Sonic Adventure: Sonic Riders 4 Ever

by Luna-la

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sonic the Hedgehog, Spike, Comedy, Adventure, Crossover, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Original Character
Length: 27815

Ready to rev up your gear? Spike has been cast into a strange new world unlike his own and his only way of getting home, a racing tournament hosted by none other than Sonic the Hedgehog himself.

Welcome to the world of Mobius, where the name of the game is speed, whether it be on foot like the fastest thing alive Sonic the Hedgehog, or even more relevant, on a futuristic board called Extreme Gear. Spike has been cast into this strange world against his will and is forced to put skills to the test he never had to develop. Racing on an extreme gear is one thing, but fighting against the many dangers of Mobius is another, in which Spike will have to brave in order to get back home. Can Spike survive a world unlike his own or will he fall victim to Sonic's strange world?

You can also view the pics here to cut down on having to go back to the Prologue but if you want the details on certain aspects of different characters, the Prologue is where you need to go.

Team Sonic
Team Babylon
Team Spade
Team Chaos
Team Terrilynx

First in the Sonic Adventure Collection

Published 2016-06-16 01:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-03-18 20:26:35 UTC

Characters Bio Chapter: Know your Racers

Author's Note

This chapter is to be used as reference for the rest of the story cutting down on alot of the physical introductions that would flood the chapters. This chapter contains the appearances in each of the pictures as well as the bios for each character.

Prologue

Prologue: characters and designs

Names and descriptions are from left to right.

A mysterious band of treasure-seeking thieves, who have existed since ancient times, with the mantle of the group being inherited from one generation to the next. Each member is a descendant of the ancient alien race of genie-like beings that got stranded in ages past.

Jet the Hawk

Cocky and brash, Jet is very arrogant, prideful, and always seeks riches and fortunes. While also the Babylon Rogues' leader, Jet rarely takes his responsibilities seriously, though he knows how to assert his authority. On numerous occasions he's shown an absolute rivalry with anyone better than him, Sonic included. This can lead to unfair decisions on his part usually in the means of winning by any means necessary.

Neon the Canary

Beautiful yet rude, how does she do it. Neon the Canary is Team Babylon's newest addition to the team as their Ex Gear specialist, replacing a once confident Wave the Swallow. Her mind isn't exactly all there as she comes off as either crazy, over dramatic, naturally immature, or sometimes a bit seductive. Combined with with extroverted nature, she's quick to jump on conclusions and thoughts without a second thought. She has a bone crushing crush on Jet the Hawk and seeks his attention 24/7. Her necklace seems to a point of interest for most, since it's contents are unknown, not because her breast are like...right there.

Storm the Albatross

In general, Storm is somewhat dim-witted and slow on the uptake, but makes up for it in raw power. He is Jet the Hawk's most loyal follower and right hand man. As such, he is always ready for Jet's assignments.

Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow was created as the "Ultimate Life Form" by Gerald Robotnik, using the DNA of Black Doom, and is the end result of Project Shadow. The reason behind that doesn't reflect his arrogant, determined, and somewhat cold personality as he was to ultimately provide a cure to Gerald's daughter, Maria, but in the end was deemed deadly to humanity and put into stasis. Awoken by Dr. Eggman, Gerald's grandson, Shadow soon found himself working to destroy earth but in the end came to protect it. He now works for the military force known as G.U.N.

Michelle the cat

Working alongside Shadow as yet another G.U.N member, Michelle is secretly investigating anything and everything G.U.N can't confirm. This time it just happens to fall to Eggman's suspicious silence. Deemed too dangerous for social work, Michelle was placed in shadow's care to mend her hard nature, although the two seem to share the same attitude. As a kitten, she was blessed with the power of fire and as such seeks to burn anything that she dislikes, which is alot.

Silver the Hedgehog

A Knight of Kronos in-training, gifted with psychokinetic abilities 200 years from a post-apocalyptic alternate future, Silver is driven with a mission to apprehend a suspected traitor among the world of Mobius that caused the destruction of far future. As a warrior of a future deprived of hope, Silver has a strong sense of justice and it is this personality trait that motivates him to head back into the past to correct the future. This eagerness however, coupled with a strong naivety, he often jumps to conclusions and readily believes anything he is told. Thus he is prone to manipulation and making poor decisions.

This team's formation is quite unusual as no one knows where the even come from.

Kei

Originating from the unknown, Kei is the expert strategist using his superior intellect to work his way out of situations. His tone is very sophisticated and he often uses it to belittle others under him. As such he used to not being around anyone else but his team who he sees as equals. When things get tough, he has the ability to project his aura into small balls of green energy that can attack even without his command.

Fuyu

Silent but deadly, Fuyu is without a doubt a foe not to be underestimated. Her superior speed and somewhat mystical abilities make her almost untouchable on or off the racetrack. With a heart of gold, Fuyu is quick to jump anyone's rescue and will often show mercy to those she despises. This nobility often comes back to haunt her now and then but is also her strongest trait.

Infinite

Infinite is an enigmatic and mysterious, yet lethal and dark figure, cold and stern, though deeply sadistic and cruel. Combined with a calm and collected attitude, he's often the hardest to approach and yet the easiest to get to. His inferiority complex makes him completely sure of his and his team's strength, stubborn to question any perceived weakness they might have. Despite all this, he cares an extreme amount for his teammates and will rush to their aid no matter what.

The team was founded by Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna to stop one of Dr. Eggman's plans for world domination, who later turned out to be Metal Sonic in disguise. With its primary members having at least one talent at which they are virtually perfect at, Team Sonic is a highly capable team who has overcome several threats to the world.

Tails

Gifted with the oddity of two tails hence his nickname, Tails maintains a steady title of the best pilot around as well as Sonic’s all time Sidekick. He is a good-natured, intelligent youth who is fiercely loyal to Sonic and his friends. Though he is at times intimidated by the obstacles he faces as a hero, he continues to press forward with Sonic as his inspiration.

Sonic

The renowned savior of Mobius who’s will of heroism has led him and his friends through the long and ongoing fight against Eggman's machines. Sonic's speed is his ultimate weapon which sometimes makes him overconfident as he assumes he can deal with things on his own. He's a born risk-taker, and not always in favor of following the rules. Be that as it may, he has a firm conviction of justice and a desire to see Dr. Eggman and all others like him stopped.

Knuckles

As the last Mobian Echidna known to inhabit the world, Knuckles takes pride in his role as guardian of the Master Emerald as well as Angel Island. Knuckles is an incredibly strong individual, but has has proven somewhat gullible over the years, with Dr. Eggman tricking him into fighting Sonic on several occasions. He is hot-tempered and quick to act without thinking, usually choosing violence over discussion. In the end, he’s loyal to his friends, if not with a little sarcasm here and there.

Korbin

This Spunky kitty is what you’d call a charmer. Cute and childish yet just as easily annoying and nerve wrecking, letting little things get to her temper, or laughing at a particularly serious situation. She makes up for this by having the most of everything on the team whether it be charisma, hope, or optimism. Her extreme speed is notable more than anything.

Spike

Like a dream, Spike has been transported to this strange world of anthropomorphic animals and has no choice but bide his time until he can get home. He usually means well and it does show but it's also obvious that he has a more modern personality to him in the form of sarcasm, friendly insults, and even a bit of mischief.

Lindsey

This cute monkey shows an acute knowledge of understanding is by far the most approachable on the team. She often switches from being nice and noble to adventurous and expecting, able to tear someone down and build them back up a moment later. Her export agility comes from years of practice, and well...she's a monkey.

"And with that the teams are set. Are you ready to experience the greatest event to hit the world of Mobius. I'm Omochao and welcome to the world Extreme racing."

It's time to Rev up you Gear!

A strange new world

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Data with emotions

Author's Note

This chapter and the last were prologue to the actual story. The actual teams and building of the story and it's characters are set in the next chapter and after. Get ready for an adventure that will combine two of my loves. The sensational friendship of My little pony combined with the hero of the wind, Sonic the hedgehog.

A strange new world

Spike groggily rubbed his head as the light slowly faded into his eyes. “Where am I?” He stumbled to his feet only to fall and bonk his head against the wall. “Ow! What did I hit?” Spike waited a few minutes letting his eyes adjust to the light. When he was finally able to see, his reaction could only be that of shocked, his reflection showed a dragon much taller than actual size, but in reality his surprise came from the entire place being made of complete metal. “What in the world? When did I hit this growth spurt? Better question, what is this place, it’s nothing but metal and…….technology I think Twilight called it. We only just discovered how this technology works and this entire city is filled with it, amazing.”

“Hey get out of the road!”

It finally came to Spike’s attention that he was being honked at by some kind of levitating vehicle. “Excuse me but what exactly is that?”

“It’s a car nitwit, now get out of the way before I run you over with it.”

“Sorry I’m just a bit confused, could you help me?”

“Oh i’ll help you alright!”

The car sped up, the matte red paint job nearing closer and closer. Spike closed his eyes preparing for imminent pain until the sound of the wind in his ears shot them open again. He looked down to the moving metal ground below him then up to the clear blue skies. Spike had expected to see a stopped car in front of him but instead stared into the spines of a blue figure. "What the?..Hey..what's going on?"

"About time you opened your eyes, What's up?"

"Would do you mean what's up?"

"C'mon, you were just standing the road. If I hadn't made my speedy rescue, you would've bit the dust."

"That guy wasn't as understanding as I thought."

"Lotta people are like that, I just avoid them."

Spike looked around at some of the giant electronic billboards and noticed the face of his savior plastered across with two others. "Hey your face is up there, are you famous or something whoever you are?"

"You can say that. We're setting down at a air station, i'll let you off there, and by the way, the name's Sonic the Hedgehog."

Sonic set down his board inside the boxed off area. Two prongs slowly slid out of the sides of the box and clipped on to the side of the board, lowering it down into a oval imprint. There an electric field began to form around the board as it charged with air. The spring then popped the board up at least 4 feet where Sonic skillfully grabbed out of the air. "So Sonic was it, what is that thing?"

"Hmmm....you must be from some of the more, influential cities. This is EX Gear."

"EX gear?"

"Yea. The hottest, craziest, fastest, air riding, and completely customizable, thing going around the world."

"Speaking of world, what exactly is this place?"

"You're in Metal City.....on the land of Mobius. You don't get out much huh."

"Well, and you're gonna think this is crazy so don't get weirded out or anything, I'm.....you see....it's..like..well..I'm from a different world....like not this world...you guys don't exist there."

"Whoa...that's awesome!"

"I know it's weird and you just think....Wait what?"

"Dude that's cool, what's your world like?"

"Wait a minute, aren't you freaked out...at all."

"Are you kidding me, this is just extra on top of the giant pile of adventures and crazy things I get into on a daily basis."

"Daily basis? What do you do?"

"Later, first tell me about your world."

"That could take a while."

"I got time to spare."

"Only warning I guess, might wanna sit down. So it all started with the princesses." About an hour and half passed as Spike told of how the how Celestia imprisoned Luna in the moon, of how she escaped and brought darkness to the world, of how the mane 6 banded together and used the elements of harmony to stop her and every threat afterwards until their return to the tree. Finally he ended up at his current situation. "Then on my way to Canterlot, some weird light just sucked me in and here I am."

"Woah that is....detailed."

"Told ya."

"Well I would tell you mine, but it's getting dark, and we would be here until morning."

"What do we do?"

"Well I'm going back to the tower now. I could put you up for the night."

"Really, thanks Sonic. I won't be intruding or anything will I?"

"Not at all, your as good as gold."

"Great."

"Now let's get going." Sonic tossed his board down watching as it floated helplessly above ground. Before Sonic could put both feet on board, the billboard lit up with the words breaking news. Sonic along with two other mobians flashed on screen. Sonic took his foot of the board and chuckled. "Yes, the commercial finally aired."

"Commercial?"

"Hey guys Sonic the hedgehog here. Thanks to my good ol buddy Tails, team Sonic saw a slight increase in our financial section....a big slight increase. So without further ado, to all you mobians watching at home, we'd like to announce our very own EX 4 Ever World Grand Prix! Want a chance to go up against us yourself, then get a sign up sheet at Hyper tower, constructed by Tails himself, the most technologically advanced tower in Metal city. See you there!"

The screen returned to it's usual advertising and Sonic stepped on his board. "Nice, finally it's time to train."

Spike stepped on the board as well observing the board. "What's this World Grand Prix about?"

"Well while their a good source of transportation, most of the use goes towards Extreme racing."

"So people actually race these things?"

"Yep, we customize, train, and race it out to see who's the fastest on extreme gear."

"Interesting." Sonic and Spike rode through the streets of Metal City until the giant tower came into view. Spike's eyes widened at the sight, all the technology that was invested, the colors and lights that seemed to travel up and down the spire. "Wow, that's that Hyper tower you were talking about in the video right?"

"Oh yea, took 2 years to build it but Tails did it."

"Tails? I'm guessing that was the yellow girl next to you with the tails right?"

"Yea that was Tails, and 'he's' a fox."

"Oh sorry about that."

"Don't worry he get's it all the time. We're coming up on the tower now."

"How do you even get in there?"

Hyper Tower

"Well for regular guest it's a gravity lift under the center of it, but for those with an extreme gear, well..." Sonic continued along the street leading straight to the tower. As they closer, four smaller spiral like towers came into view all the same height and width. Sonic whipped into a side street and sped up, one of the towers slowly growing larger as they closer. They sped into a clearing before reaching the tower. The entrance wasn't even a regular door but a large opening that curved upward. "Hold on."

Spike grabbed on tight as the gravity began working against them. From his perspective the inside of the tower shot thousands of miles into the sky, curving in complex spiral. Sonic sped up the spiral with his extreme gear like it was nothing. Spike blinked for one second and instantly found himself atop the tower. "Wow...how did we get up here so fast?"

"Are you kidding me? Hehe, it's in my name, the fastest hedgehog in Mobius. Now hold on, things are about to get a little weightless."

"Weightless?" Sonic slowly moved his board near the edge of the top, nearing closer and closer to fall. It was then that Sonic shifted his foot and tapped something with his foot. A small circular orb appeared from the edge of the top of the tower setting up it's position in front of Sonic. Sonic lowered his foot to the ground and waited. The orb began to change a little, two hatches on both sides of it opened up revealing a giant hole through it's entire body. Suddenly it shot off with incredible speed, giving Sonic the cue to push as hard as he could with his foot. Spike took hold of Sonic's body even tighter and closed his eyes in fear. "Sonic what are doing?! We're gonna fall!....huh?" Spike felt the rushing air pass by his head but moving horizontally not vertically. He opened his eyes to see not ground nor hear the sound of crashing but them floating amidst the air. "What? So you can fly too?"

"Well no and yes. The board can but I can't. We're riding turbulence to the tower."

"Being able to ride the wind like it's a solid force. Wow this world has some amazing things."

"Mobius is special after all."

"So is Equestria, you'll have to visit some time."

"He, I'll give it a try if it's possible. The tower's coming up, keep you balance for second."

"Oh no, what's that whoa!"

Sonic began to turn slightly as he neared a small corridor just beneath the large top part of the tower. Sonic was almost a complete 90 degree turn making it hard for Spike keep his feet on the board. Trying his best to remain on the board, Spike realized the opening was alot smaller than what he thought, only suitable for at least one. Spike closed his waiting for imminent death until a tap from Sonic got his attention. "Hey you alright?"

"Y..yea fine, I think."

"Don't worry there's no more surprises for now. Just gotta stop up ahead, open the hatch and get inside.

"Oh thank god."

"You don't do alot risk taking do you?"

"You'd be surprised actually."

"I figured. Here we are." Sonic stopped his board right below a small square hatch. Both him and Spike hopped off as he turned a latch and pushed the hatch open. He tossed his board up and climbed through. "Give me your hand." Spike took hold of Sonic's hand and felt himself pulled through. Sonic closed the hatch and put his board on a spot on the wall. "Welcome to home sweet home."

Spike's eyes widened as he stared around the gigantic room. On a wall directly right of him there were magnetic hooks for EX gear. Behind that wall was the kitchen. On his left was a gigantic living room. In the middle was an enormous red couch sitting upon a red velvet carpet. On both sides were glass coffee tables, in front was one big coffee table. To the left and right of the center table were two smaller red couches, to it's front hung a gigantic TV on the wall. Above the boards were stairs leading to the rooms. It was obvious which room was which. Sonic's door was blue, Tails's was yellow, and Knuckles's was red. "Wow....Fancy place you got here."

"Oh yea, Tails went all out here. You want some food?"

"Oh yea big time, you got any gems?"

"Gems?"

"Well yea don't all dragons eat them?"

"Well i'm not too sure about that. In this world, we don't eat things that will probably kill us."

"Oh, well what do you got?"

"You wanna try one of my world famous chili dogs?"

"What?! You eat dogs?!"

"No no, not real dogs, a hot dog. See there are animals in this world that use to survive in the form of cows, pigs, and chickens, feral of course."

"Oh man I thought you meant...nevermind. I'll guess i'll try one.

"Sweet, give me ten minutes."

Spike sat on the couch and waited patiently for ten minutes. Finally Sonic appeared from the kitchen holding one plate with two chili dogs on it. He sat it down on the glass table and sat down next to Spike. "So these are chili dogs right?"

"You got it?"

"Alright then, how exactly do I pick this up and..eat it."

"So basically you just hold it like this long way facing you and you just get your mouth around it and take a bite simple."

"Um....ok let's see here. So like this and..." Spike took one bite out of the chili dog. At first the heat surprised him making his eyes water but after the pain subsided, the taste set in. "Wow that's amazing."

"That's only the ones I make. If you want a real chili dog, then there's a street vendor in the city that makes them like no one else."

"I hope to take you up on that offer, until then." Spike quickly scarfed down his chili dog. "More please."

"Are you kidding? I have enough ingredients to make dozens! You wanna know how?"

"Heck yea!" Sonic and Spike rushed into the kitchen with lightning speed and began cooking. An hour later there sat 24 chili dogs on the glass table. Spike and Sonic licked the lips as the they stared the food down. They began to eat until Spike took a quick glance at the TV. "So what is that thing?"

"A TV?"

"Yea, what's it for?"

"Basically it just shows and bunch of shows."

"Shows...like plays?"

"Like plays but with way more power."

"Define power."

"Well thanks to the TV, you can watch a wide range of different shows, not just one. It's better if I just show you." Sonic grabbed the controller and flipped the TV on. "See, basically your plays but on a screen and if you hit this button you can flip through different channels...i mean plays."

"Wow your world is so awesome. Hey what about that?"

"What the Mobius360? It's a game console."

"Game console?"

Sonic pressed the center button on the console. It lit up blue as the console powered on. Sonic pressed a button of the controller and the screen went black and switched to the console's input. Sonic handed Spike a Mobius360 controller and sat down. "Spike my boy, we have alot to discuss. First off, the best game to play is Sonic unleashed and yes, the events that transpire inside the game are real."

Time to meet the crew

Data with emotions

Also sound warning for the videos. Turn down your volume unless you want to alert the neighborhood.

Spike groggily opened his eyes to the futuristic ceiling. His attention went towards the TV which was still on with a paused Sonic Unleashed on screen. His eyes then swayed to the five plates on the table beside him. Chili stained the various parts of the plate including the bottom which seemed impossible. Spike sat up and yawned but closed his mouth in disgust. He breathed into his hand and took a small whiff. His face jumped back at the smell, chili dogs still stained his breath. "Oh wow that's bad."

Just then Sonic sat up as well and yawned. He completely mirrored Spike's earlier expression and stood up. He made his way over to the kitchen and opened a small drawer. He pulled out a small and thin can and sat back down on the couch. "Good thing I stocked up. Want one?"

"Um..What are they?"

"Breath mints. See the horrible side effect of something so good is that it leaves a nasty smell so pop two or three of these in and chew. They make your breath all minty fresh."

"Hmm." Spike grabbed two mints and popped them in, Sonic did the same. As Spike began to chew his expression grew surprised. "Wow that mint taste is strong."

"Cool too."

"Cool?"

"Finish chewing then breath out."

Spike did just that and smiled as his breath came out ice cold. "Wow that is cool, literally."

"Yep, might as well clean up this mess while we're at it."

Spike and Sonic grabbed the five plates and brought them over to the sink. Sonic began running the water and poured and stream of soap. Spike leaned against a wall while Sonic began washing. "So Sonic?"

"What's up?"

"you never really got around to telling me about your world. The reason you wouldn't be so surprised about another world?"

"Oh yea, might as well multitask then." Sonic turned his body slightly towards Spike but continued washing dishes. "So it all began with a certain robot loving freak we call....Robuttnik." Hours passed as Sonic told story with such enthusiasm that it seemed like he was actually reliving them. "Finally after speeding to the final scene, me and my younger self went super and stopped both Robuttnik and Eggman."

"Wow!......So was it awesome when you and Tails took on the death egg?"

"All sorts."

"And is that knuckles guy really that easy to trick?"

"Just about, but when things get serious, he's always on my side."

And what about those off the record adventures?"

"Off the record? Oh you mean the Babylonian nights and Camelot. Those were...unorthodox but fun overall. I made a really cool friend in the world of Babylonian nights though so I hope to go back sometime."

"Oh and what about.."

"Whoa! OK ok, you keep that up and we'll be here until midnight."

"But judging from how you taught how to read a clock, it's only noon."

"Right, and I have stuff to do."

"like what?"

"Well unfortunately, we have to split up. I have to to get to the final stage."

"Final stage? Are you talking about that Grand Prix you announced on that giant TV."

"Yea."

"What's the final stage?"

"Well the tournament works like this, there are four stages not including the actual final stage, the preliminaries, the main race, the semi finals, and the finals. Each team must put up one person to race and basically whoever's last will have their team eliminated. And so on until the last team standing at the finals heads to actual final stage. The chief of police won't let us use the city as a racing stage so Tails and Knuckles went out to the desert to build a replica."

"Won't that take a long time? I mean this city and tower are pretty...advanced."

"Nah, the only good thing about the replica is that it won't require all the tech so it was way easier to build. Any way I have to get to the finals stage before 3 o'clock and trust me, it takes me a while to get there."

"But aren't you the fastest thing alive?"

"Yea, but that can't beat the sweet taste of all the chili dogs on the way. Did you know that actually bacon wrapped a chili dog?"

"What's bacon?"

"Um..nevermind. I'm gonna regret this but you gotta go."

"What do you mean? Can't I come with you?"

"Well no, no one besides myself, Tails, and Knuckles can see the stage but sign ups are today and the race starts in two days. We can see each other then."

"Oh man, how am I supposed to get around, I don't know anyone?"

"Well I can give you a hint." Sonic opened a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out a small phone. "Here. Keep this with you."

"What is it?"

"A arm pad, just a basic one since you don't know how to really use the more complicated ones. Basically just strap this to your wrist like so and press this button to turn it on and this black screen should show up, it's touchscreen so use your finger or...claw to press on these little apps. This one can do video calls so anyone you may meet can get a hold of you and this one is a map, it adapts to the terrain wherever you are giving you a up to date map of the area. Don't worry, my contact is in there too."

"Thank you Sonic but I still don't know where to go?"

"Oh yea the hint, go to the Emerald park and just walk around. I promise that you'll meet someone there."

"How do you know?"

"That park is the central point of events. Everything happens there from meet ups and hanging out to even events, especially choosing teammates."

"So this map will show me how to get there right?"

"Yea just press the GPS button when you open it up and say where you wanna go."

"Are...do I really have to go?"

"Don't get all sappy on me now. I helped you out as long as I could but now with this tournament and everything, my hands are kinda tied sorry."

"Sonic..."

"Heh you sound just like Tails when he used to do that. Look just call me if you need help and I'll be right there ok?"

"Alright, guess we should get going then."

"Oh yea, this should help you get around faster." Sonic removed a board from it's magnetic locks and tossed it down in front of Spike. "It was my prime EX Gear during the time we had those magnetic space bracelets. Not completely up to date but it should at least earn you some credit.

"Wait you're just giving me a board? I don't really even know how to ride one of these things."

"You'll learn, it's the least I can do to get you some respect around here. Now come on, the main lift's over here."

Sonic and Spike proceeded behind the kitchen to a small circular platform which instantly lit up with turquoise light upon their touch. Spike closed his eyes as the light began to engulf them and suddenly his body felt weightless. Moments later he felt the weight return to his body as he opened his eyes. "Wow we came from all the way up there so fast."

"Technology is awesome isn't it. Now I wouldn't recommend riding this until you get the proper equipment so head down to the EX shop next to the park and ask for Rotor, he'll hook you up."

"Thanks sonic...for everything you've done so far."

"Don't thank me until you cross that finish line before me."

"Wait what?"

"Well I assumed you're signing up, right?"

"Maybe?"

"Might be the best idea, Tails is probably the only person smart enough to get you home except for a certain egghead but stay away from him no matter what. Now go find yourself a team so we can get you home."

"Yes..If it's to see Twilight and all my friends again."

"Good motivation, ciao."

With that, Sonic hopped on his board and took off in a burst of speed leaving Spike to fend for himself. "As long as I get to the park, I should be fine. No pressure me, I can do this. It's to get home....it's to get home." Spike turned on his pad and pressed the map icon. A holographic map of the tower popped up with a red blip under it. Slightly camouflaged to the left of the screen was the GPS button in which Spike nervously pressed. Upon doing so, he instantly jumped out of his scales as a small young girl emerged from his pad. "Dear Celestia!"

"Calm down, there's no need to be afraid young dragon."

"Who are you and why are you in my wrist? Did Sonic trap you in this...technology and you can't get out.?"

"Oh heavens no, quite different actually. I am a computer program created a very long time ago to help Sonic and Sally on their adventures. did he not mention me?"

"Well he might have but we kinda fell into a food coma last night. I don't remember much after all those chili dogs."

"Yea that's my Sonic. Well then let me introduce myself."

Spike almost had a heart attack when she seemingly stepped off the pad's holofield and grew to his size along with gaining a variety of colors. "Wow, how are you..?"

"I am a highly advanced sentient program, my name is Nicole the Lynx.

"Nice...nice to meet you Nicole, I'm Spike. I......."

"Is there something wrong Mr. Spike?"

"Um....no....not a thing...just....I can breathe fire and it makes my stomach upset."

"I hope you get better. Shall I run and get something to soothe it?"

"No!..um no i'm fine now."

"Fabulous, by they way was there somewhere you wanted to go?"

"Oh....yea...to Emerald park."

"Certainly, it's about four blocks south from the tower. Shall I guide you?"

"Yes mam..."

"Are you ok? You're acting quite strange."

"I'm fine, trust me."

"Alrighty, shall we walk and talk?"

"Of...course."

Nicole guided Spike down the street showcasing to him the many shops and stores as they passed them. Spike however was struggling to keep the awkwardness to a minimum. "And so Sally actually ended up slapping Sonic for going off on his own against such a dangerous robot and while that is his thing, Sally cares too much for Sonic to be Sonic."

"Wow never knew he had so many admires."

"Naturally. Of course now he has this pink haired nuisance chasing him all over the place named Amy Rose. She means well but her motivation not to mention attitude can be quite annoying. Did you by chance have this issue back in your world?"

"What!......well yea..but it was the exact opposite. Most of the time, it was me chasing the girl but as fate would have....most of them were either too old for me or didn't return my feelings."

"Too old you say?"

"Well back in my world, I had a slightly shorter stature, almost kid like, so everyone kind of saw me as a kid."

"Well you seem to have changed then because you look pretty mature to me."

Spike's level of blush was through the roof, his face so red that it literally could turn the rest of his body that color."Really......thanks. So Nicole, what are you interest?"

"Interest, well I never really get anytime to do so but even though i'm a girl, I love to play video games surprisingly."

"Why is that surprising?"

"Because there's this whole gamer girl trend, it's like any girl who loves games can considered into this category and automatically it's like she plays games, that's so uncommon."

"That's completely stupid. You shouldn't be singled out just because you're a girl."

"That's what I said. Anyway when i'm not doing that, I often like to enjoy the nature in the parks, cracking open a good book is never a bad thing, hanging out with friends is my favorite pass time, and you know being a computer program, I love to program, It relieves stress when things get....complicated."

"Complicated."

"Yea I run just all the things in that tower. Those three can be quite a handful to take care of sometimes."

"Well I would suggest taking a break but only if I knew this place better."

"That would be nice, by the way, we're almost there. Emerald park is just up that hill."

"Really, we walked so far in such a short time."

"Time flies when you get a good conversation going."

"Say, do you know someone named Rotor? Sonic told me to look him up."

"Oh Rotor? That big lug is just past the park. His shop has a big emerald sign above it, you can't miss it."

"Thanks Nicole."

"Anytime Spike, No one's in the tower so i'll be be with you always."

Spike just stared into space as those words flooding his mind. Eventually he realized it and stumbled as he snapped out of it. He let out a small burst of fire and covered his mouth. "Um...yea..I..."

Nicole giggled and waved. "You are quite funny Spike. Ciao for now."

Nicole faded into the datascape as Spike began walking up the hill. "Wow she's unimaginably beautiful. Something about here is just so..."

"Spike, I can hear you. Did you say I was beautiful?"

"Um...Nevermind that I have something to do."

Nicole giggled again. "Funny dragon."

Spike walked up the hill and set foot on the sidewalk. The park was significantly bigger than most. It consisted of a small walkway that connected throughout the park. From his view the sidewalk went to three paths. Going straight surrounded you by trees and benches, going to the left led to a giant playground for kids, to the right was Spike's future later destination. A Grove of trees was all that was between him and large futuristic looking area. There dozens of Riders sat by or on their EX Gear talking and practicing basic things.

"Are you looking to sign up Spike?"

"Nicole? Yea, the only person who can really get me back to my world is this Tail's character. Sonic tells me that the only way to get to him is by joining this Grand Prix."

"That or he just wants someone with potential to race."

"Either way, I got to trust him." Spike made his through the middle path watching as the wind subtly moved like a wave among the trees. "Wow this is amazing."

"It's the second reason this park is so popular. Seeing as how 90% of the city is technology, Emerald park is very famous for it's abundance of nature untouched by the hands of modern society."

"It...reminds me of this farm we had in Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres."

"Sweet Apple Acres? What was that place like?"

"The best apple farm out there. When you walked in, you were greeted by Applejack, one of the nicest and most honest ponies you ever saw. In the distance, thousands of apple trees with ripe apples ready to picked and eaten. Course it wasn't the apples that drew everyone in but actually, it was the apple pie and apple cider that sealed the deal."

"Sounds delicious."

"Wait, you can taste and drink? Won't that mess you up?"

"I'm surprised you know so much about how technology works."

"Well Sonic gave me a few pointers."

"Interesting. To answer your question, yes it would fry any normal machine but as you know i'm not normal. I have programmed myself as such with normal behavior and everything. I can understand and convey emotion, I get hungry, I get thirsty, and yes even lonely. Honestly, I'm so advanced that I could be considered a regular mobian just like anyone else."

"Wow. Even more reason to love you."

"What was that?"

Spike blushed and turned his head to the right. Off the straight path to his right through the grove of trees was the big emerald sign he had been searching for. "Hey I see the emerald sign, that's Rotor's place right?"

"Yep, just mention me and you'll be fine."

"Thanks." Spike made his way across the trees and crossed the street making sure not to anger any passing cars like last time. The shop was built three stories high, a garage on the bottom and two more floors with windows. Spike made his way into the violet colored home observing all the parts and tools on the ground. Parts for cars, gadgets, and EX Gear were scattered across the way. "Hello?! Anyone home?!"

Spike put hand down on the nearby futuristic convertible to lean against it but was thrown back by a alarm suddenly erupting from it. immediately through the door in the back of the garage came a violet walrus who jumped into the car and tinkered with the inside which was exposed. After a few seconds the car alarm finally shut off and the walrus climbed out. "Sorry, this car had a electrical problem and that just so happen to be one of the kinks I haven't worked out yet. Name's Rotor, the finest engineer in all of Mobius, how may I be of service?"

"Hello Rotor, my name is Spike. I was told that I could get some gear here."

"Cool. So what kind of Gear are we talking about here?"

"Ex Gear."

"A racer? so you looking to enter Sonic's tournament too?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright have a look around and tell me what you like, shop's in the back."

Suddenly Spike's wrist began glow and out popped Nicole to normal size. "Is it fine if I have a look too?"

"Nicole? Long time no see, what's up?"

"Well I decided to help Spike out, figured it's the least I can do."

"Least you can do? What happened to him."

"Spike, your explanation please?"

Spike sits down and motions Rotor to do the same. "Got any snacks cause this might take a while. So it all started with the two princesses, Celestia and Luna.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed the Archie nostalgia this chapter.

Balance and Resolve

Author's Note

As this chapter finally begins to introduce the characters, I ask that you refer to the Prologue chapter or the main page for this story to see the designs for the characters.

Time to meet the crew

Rotor's eyes spun like pinwheels trying to comprehend all the information that just entered his brain. He scratched his head in confusion then began making small movements as if trying to put two and two together. "So let me get this straight, for years and years twilight studied under the princesses only to become one herself?"

Spike nodded. "Right."

"And she just so happen to be one of the main ponies who could wield the elements of harmony."

"Right."

"Alright alright, but there is still one thing that confuses me, you said that dragons in that world seem to grow from greed, how's that work?"

"Dude even I don't know."

"Understandable, and you have no idea how you got here?"

"Not even a inch of a clue."

"Ah...well you killed an hour surprisingly."

"Took me longer when I explained it to Sonic."

"Well now that that's over, do you still want to get some gear or should I go wrap my head around everything you told me?"

"I would recommend option number two but I need some gear."

"Alright then, like I said an hour ago, shop's in the back, let's get you settled."

Spike and Rotor made their way into the back of the garage and through the door. After traveling through a small hallway, they emerged inside the shop. Blue paint covered the walls with rings painted over it. From Spike's perspective, the wall they faced held dozens of Ex shoes and gloves. On the wall they emerged were clothes tailored just for racing. To their right, the front door and display showcasing the gear, and to the left, the front counter. Inside the counter were accessories like glasses, wristbands, headbands, goggles, etc. Rotor guided Spike over the counter and directed his attention towards behind the counter. Spike eyes shone like stars as he stared at the collection of boards that Rotor hoarded on the wall. "Whoa....Sonic wasn't kidding when he said you're the best."

"Ha! Sonic said that?"

"Yea actually."

"Really? I thought he was kidding when he said he bragged about my shop. Choose whichever one you like and we'll get you set up with the gear. By the way is that Sonic's Blue Star you're holding?"

"Yea, he said I could use to get around till I got here but I never really bothered."

"Can I have it? Please please, I have been dying to modify this board for ages."

"Go nuts."

Rotor took the board from Spike and stashed it inside a room just beside the left side of the counter. "I will see you later."

"Hey I know which board I want."

"That fast? Which one were you pointing at?"

"The one on top."

"Oh boy, I knew there would be a drawback to stacking those boards so high. Alright then...alleyoop." Rotor jumped up and up attempting to grab the board but with no success. The fifth time he tried, he ended catch his foot on the counter and tumbling over. "Ow, this might take some time."

Nicole popped out Spike's wrist and floated upward. "You could've just asked me you know."

"Sorry Nicole, didn't know you could fly."

"You're forgiven now here."

Nicole handed the board to Rotor. "Alright let's see here...the Wind Star huh."

Spike cocked his head confusion mostly because he thought all boards were the same. "Wind Star?"

Rotor began making very keen adjustments to the board as he talked. "Yep, it specializes in midair racing. Stream like curves for aerodynamics, well balanced attributes when compared to average stats, increased top speed, air ride capability and.."

"Hey Rotor."

"Gear shift in yacht type for riding turbulence.."

"Rotor! You lost me at mid air racing."

"Oh man I'm sorry. I forgot you're not from this world."

"Yea thanks for that."

"let give you the run down. This board specializes in mid air racing, basically means you can fly demonstrated by the bar that connects the two exhaust and the curves that increase it's ability to ride the wind as well when you collect a certain number of rings, it can modify itself into this form here which helps better the flying attribute."

"That's amazing."

"It also has another form but that, I'll let you see for yourself. Second, every board has stats that stand out from other gear. Every gear has different stats and attributes that separate them so get to know the board before riding it. All stats work on from zero to six, six being the best so for this board, it's stats would look like dash-3, limit-1, power-3, and curve-5."

"That's somewhat confusing but I think I got it."

Make sure to aim for a board with good stats and it fits your style. Last thing is the type of board. Each board has a special type that comes with it, speed, power, or fly. Speed is for those who like to move fast and stick to the quickest routes. This ability gives them dominating speed over competition as well as the ability to grind on rails. Power is for muscle heads like myself who enjoy pounding things to dust. This ability makes them very resistant to damage and they can plow through any obstacle in their path if necessary. Last if fly for those who enjoy the wind rushing past their ears. This type allows them the use of certain paths that are to high for normal riders to reach. Simply put, with the help of fly panels, they can dash straight over the competition with the power to fly and often are the second fastest on the track. Did you get all that?...Spike?"

Spike eyes spun like pinwheels as his mind couldn't process anymore information. "Um...I think I got it...maybe....kinda....not."

"Do you want to go over it again?"

"No no, I think I can figure it out."

"Alright then time for gear."

"What else do I need?"

"Well for one, the magnetic shoes."

"I'll pass."

"Wait what? Why pass on the shoes, you're going to be falling off alot without them."

"While that's true, I just don't feel comfortable in those death traps. They didn't really have them in Equestria so you know, it would take me longer to get used to those before the board."

"I guess you're right on that. Alright then take a look inside the counter and find yourself an nice pair of glasses or goggles your choice."

"What are they for?"

"Some people kinda have to get used to having the wind in their eyes like that so they wear glasses and goggles to block out the wind. Most of the time though some of the places people ride can get kinda dusty and disorienting so the glasses help them see even if sand is blasting them in the face."

"Alright then, those look good."

"Cool. Anything else gloves or wristbands, etc?"

"No think I'm good."

Alright then you are set my friend. Remember to cite the motto everyday just for luck."

"Motto, what motto?"

Nicole instantly appeared next to Spike with her hand over his mouth. "He didn't say that, he he, we'll be going now."

"Our motto is.."

"Rotor don't you dare recite that motto."

"This is my board. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My board is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my board is useless. Without my board, I am useless."

"You have got to be kidding me. Quick Spike, let's go before he starts singing." Nicole quickly and forcefully pushed Spike out of the store and back in front of the house. "Whew, glad to be out of there. Spike what's wrong?"

Spike pointed up to a large billboard playing a video. In they video they showcased some of the extreme skills demonstrated in some of the past Grand Prix. "Are you kidding me? Sonic want's me to race and I have to compare up to that. I can't even stand up on a board straight." He dropped his head facing the ground and began to comically sulk. "I'm done for."

"Oh Spike cheer up." She held his chin up with one hand and began to gently caress his cheek. "Now come on, I don't want to see any tears now. I'm here to help you right?"

"..Right."

"Now show me a smile and let's go find ourselves a team."

"Thanks Nicole."

"No problem darling."

Spike's face instantly shifted red as he heard the words, "darling". He coughed away the blush and began making his into the park. Proceeding back into the park, he nervously walked back to the intersection and after moments of preparation he took his first steps towards the Ex park. Not even a second after reaching the edge of the park, he dropped to the ground rubbing his head while his board fell to the ground without a scratch. "Ow what was that."

A voice panicked yet sincere met a face as Spike opened his eyes. "Oh my god, I am so sorry, I was riding and I didn't see you and I just couldn't keep my attention forward, what is wrong with me?!"

"Hey calm down whoever you are I'm ok."

"Whew, glad to hear it." She extended a hand to Spike and helped him up. "So what brings you here stranger?"

"Well, I'm a rider now apparently so I thought I'd come and join a team or something."

"You're looking for a team too, that's great! just so happens that we're looking for another member to complete our team. It's gonna be amazing, I just know we'll wi..."

Spike covered her mouth with his claw. "We don't even know each other yet and you're already setting us up as a team. Let's iron out the basics first then we'll come to that."

"Okie dokie, name's Korbin the cat."

"I'm Spike the dragon."

"A dragon? So cool! Is it true that if we pull your tails you breath fire?"

"Wait don't!"

Korbin gave his tail one big yank and out came a stream of fire. He snapped his jaws shut with his hand and removed Korbin from his tail with the other. "Um...Sorry."

"Just don't do it again please."

Another voice came from behind him making him jump in fear. "Korbin are you bothering this nice dragon?" Spike breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to face the voice belonging to a overly attractive feminine figure. "I assume she's already introduced herself so I guess I'll do it to. Hello, nice to meet you, my name Lindsey the monkey."

"Uhh....."

"Excuse sir is there something wrong?"

The blush returned to his cheeks as he coughed in embarrassment. "Um..no nothing at all, just....I'm Spike, nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So what brings you here Spike?"

Korbin jumped and put an arm around her. He's looking for a team to crush the competition with."

"Is that so? Well we have a spot open if you're willing to show us what you got."

Spike's scratched his head and turned around making his way to pick up his board. "See about that."

Korbin jumped up in front of him making him drop his board in dear. "Whatcha hiding huh?"

"Well...I.....is there anywhere we practice in private maybe?"

"Well no really the entire city is kinda of the riding grounds."

Well then is there somewhere where most people don't ride alot?"

Korbin held her chin in thought. "Well there is that old course from the first Grand Prix."

Lindsey patted Korbin on the back and nodded. "Of course, they shut that road down for training purposes but it's so basic no one sees it as a challenge."

Spike nodded and picked up his board once more. "That's perfect."

"Alright then, please meet us there in an hour. There we will test your ability."

"An hour! I mean that's....perfect." Lindsey and Korbin walked off into the distance and vanished along the horizon while Spike stared in shock. "One hour....one hour.."

Nicole slowly faded back into the real world with concern on her face. "I think you may have made a regrettable decision."

"Nicole...I have one hour...to learn how to ride one of these things and I can't even stand up on one."

"Don't you worry Spike, I can teach you."

"Have you ever rode one of these before?"

"Once or twice."

Spike dropped his gaze to the floor. "I'm so screwed."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No I mean we still have help, Rotor."

"Wasn't he chanting something when we left him."

"Yes but I'll snap him out of it. Not sure if one hour is enough to teach you some of the more advanced things but we can get you good enough to get by."

"Let's hope he comes through."

Spike jogged back to Rotor's who was still in some kind of trance at the counter chanting. Nicole popped out and hovered just over Rotor. "This will just take a second."

Spike looked disgusted as she stuck her forefingers into both his ears. She started to counting down from three and as she reached 1 she let out electrical charge of energy. Rotor began vibrating like a earthquake as the electricity surged through his body. Finally she removed her fingers and floated next to Spike. "What the Robotnik?!"

"You feeling better Rotor?"

"Nicole?! I told you to s..stop d..doing that."

"What it's the only thing that snaps you out of that stupid trance you always put yourself in."

"W..what do y..you guys need?"

"Well see Spike here has just found himself a team."

"R..really congratulations buddy."

"Hold the applause until you hear the issue. His tryout for the team is in an hour."

"And.."

"He..kinda can't ride."

"Well why not?"

Spike touched the tip of his foreclaws together. "I don't know how to.....ride...the board."

"Well gosh, I should've guessed that with you being from another world and whatnot. So you want training I'm guessing."

Spike dropped to his knees and put his hands together. "Pretty please."

"Alright then, you got yourself a teacher. But only one hour, I don't think I can get everything down in that time."

"I just need the basics."

"That's doable. I know a little road just down the street that should be perfect for the job. Come on."

Spike and Rotor made their way south of the shop, passed the park, and into a drainage tunnel. About five minutes passed before they finally came out the other side. "Dear Celestia, I thought you said the the road was small."

"It is compared to most streets." Spike found himself looking at a gigantic street surrounded by sand and dirt. The street itself was about the size of a football field in width and length. "They use this section of the city to build the roads and highways and this one seems to be done. The workers seem to be off today so we should be good to go." They all made their way down from the small cliff and into the gigantic ditch. As Spike's feet touch the futuristic glass and metal, he placed his board down in front of him. "Alright Spike get on."

"Get on what?"

"The board. Hop on but make sure your dominant foot is on the back."

"I don't know."

"Don't worry, the board stabilizes itself until you actually want it to move now get on you big baby."

"Um..here goes nothing."

Spike slipped his right foot onto the back pad and his left onto the front. "Good make sure you got your balance and lean forward slightly."

"Slightly got it."

Spike closed his eyes as he jerked his entire body forward. The board shot off like a rocket from under him leaving him defying gravity and spinning in the air. Rotor grabbed Spike out of the air and place his feet on the ground. "This is going to be a long hour isn't it?"

Rev up that Gear: Initiation

Author's Note

Be aware that the next chapter will finally introduce a race with the appropriate music to match of course. Character building and introduction will still continue after this chapter but once you get to that last word and I release the next chapter, the reason you're reading this story will finally make it's way into the light so be patient.

Balance and Resolve

45 minutes have elapsed so far and things seem to be looking up for Spike. He stood impressively upon his board as performed the basics, now able to move forward without losing balance, make turns, and stop his board. "I think I'm getting the hang of this Rotor."

Rotor gave a thumbs up in response. "Nice going you're not falling for once."

Rotor flashed a big grin at the comment until a smack on the back of his head made him think otherwise. Nicole gave him the most evil of stares as he nervously coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Will you shut it Rotor, I think he's doing absolutely perfect for someone who's never been on an extreme gear."

"I guess you're right."

After practicing stopping one more time, he made his way in front of Rotor and shrugged. "What next?"

Rotor thought to himself and sighed. "Well I could teach you some of the more beginner type tricks but usually it takes a good hour or two to perfect them especially when you just started."

"Well we could at least try can't we?"

"I guess but fifteen minutes is definitely not enough time, oh well. Alright let me raise the middle of the road so you can get a good jump." Rotor turned to the control panel behind him and pressed a small button. A crane positioned high above the street began to lower down two hooks which gripped the middle of the street in 5 foot space in between. Rotor pulled a lever up and watched as the crane did just that. It began to raise a small 5 foot in length and width ramp until it was at a 30 degree angle. Rotor pushed the small button again and the crane retreated above the street. "Alright, this won't get you all the air in the world but if you gauge your speed like I showed you earlier you should be able to get a good jump out of this ramp."

"But the ones I saw people doing tricks off of were way bigger."

"And those are also the ones people break their legs on."

"Um...right."

"Now I got a couple basic tricks that you can learn within our limited time if you apply some effort."

"I have plenty of effort."

"Spike we spent ten minutes arguing about why you have to stand up on the board. Really I just think you didn't want to ride it."

"Ok valid opinion....but I offer this a rebuttal, racing sitting down is alot easier."

"And more deadly like that guy who decided to sit down on a board and ended up flipping through traffic."

"You...have made your point clear..sorry."

"Thank you. Now first up is the Ollie, a basic jump. If you had the magnetic shoes it would be easier but you don't, that's why I actually installed those snowboarding straps to help you stay on. To do this move all you need to is shift your weight to the back and bring the front of the board up. Extend the back leg so you can keep yourself upright. Once you're in the air, make sure to start bending your knees once you near the ground to land safely, Got it?"

"Alright then. Shift my weight to the back and jump." Spike lifted off the ground so the nose faced slightly upwards. Rotor realized the mistake instantly as he began to turn the nose to much. Rotor jumped up and caught Spike before he could 180 onto his face.

"How's bout we try to gain some speed this time but maybe you should see it to actually get it down. Let me see your board." Rotor removed the straps and stepped onto the board. His magnetic shoes locked in as he pushed off with his foot and gained a small amount of speed. He performed a perfect Ollie and stopped the board. "Just like that got it?"

"Alright if I do just what you did it should make sense." Rotor replaced the straps and handed the board back. Spike stepped on and took a breath. "Speed first...I got this." Spike tried to push off but soon found his issue. The straps were restricting his feet. "Um, there is no way i'm going to be able to push off like this."

Rotor scratched his head in stress. "Well there's no other way to keep you on the board unless you want shoes."

"I refuse to wear those suicide risk you guys call shoes. It just doesn't work where I'm from."

"Well how are you gonna get speed if you can't get on and off?"

Nicole began beeping at an alarming rate to which she closed her eyes and held her head. "Alarm you two, about ten minutes left.

Rotor snapped in frustration. "Dang, we're running out of time. How are you gonna push off with those straps on? Well I could....no."

Rotor seemed lost in thought over the issue easily blocking out Nicole's attempts to snap him out of it. she turned to Spike who seemed identically lost in thought until he began muttering something. "Have to...get home....no way...have to figure out..how...but...I..can't ride...like...just have to get home...."

A strange green glow made it's way around Spike making Nicole jump back. "Spike are you..ok?" He stepped off the board and reached down hooking a claw around one of the straps. Nicole tapped Rotor on the shoulder who was still ignoring her. "Um..Rotor?" Spike shredded through one strap and began to hook his claw around the other. Nicole nervously tapped Rotor again. "Rotor?"

Spike shredded through the other and tossed the remains a couple of feet away. He placed his left foot on the front pad leaving his right foot at the ready. Nicole sighed and placed a hand on Rotor's head letting lose a small electric shock. "Ow hey what was that for?" Nicole quickly pointed to the glowing Spike about to take off. "Rotor observed him and noticed the now absent straps. "Spike what're you doing? Hey hold up?!" Rotor rushed out to catch Spike but unbeknownst to him, Spike was well in his right mind as he packed the power of a jackhammer into pushing off leaving a vortex of wind pushing Rotor and Nicole back. He sped towards the ramp performing butter nose rolls as he neared the ramp with sonic speed leaving both his partners in shock. Finally he aired off the ramp with outstanding height Indy grabbing the front of his board and performing a complete 360 spin. As Spike neared the ground, his green glow dissipated and he came back to reality screaming at the top of his lungs as the ground rocket towards him. "Spike, bend your legs! Land it!"

Spike did just that and landed the jump loosing balance for a few seconds but overall sticking the landing. He stopped the board and looked around in confusion. He made his up to Rotor and Nicole and got off his board. "What in Equestria just happened?"

"Dude I have no idea but that was amazing. I thought you said you weren't good at riding a board."

"I'm not...at least I think I'm not."

"Well you just performed two moves that would take most beginners hours to stick the timing."

Nicole rushed to him and began checking Spike fore injuries. "Nicole, what are you doing to me?"

"Just making sure you're ok. You had this weird green aura around you so I imagine you had to unknowingly hurt yourself. You didn't by chance have a Chaos Emerald on you did you?"

"Green Aura?....I don't know about any green....oh boy. Now I see what happened."

"So it was a Chaos Emerald then?"

"No no Nicole, no emerald what so ever. Actually it's a..me thing.

"Me thing?"

"Well not me exactly but more of a dragon thing. See when we want something so bad or are forever determined we grow a power that no other can replicate. The power gives us a boost in all everything no matter what it is. Side effects may include growing a few sizes and uncontrollable rage."

"I would love to explore this Equestria of yours one day. It sounds like an abundance of exotic data not to mention it's sounds interesting to say the least."

Rotor tapped Nicole. "How much time we got?"

"Unfortunately three minutes."

"Spike do you remember anything you did up there?"

"A little bit. My memory gets blurry when that happens but on the upside, my balance is ten times better." Spike hopped on his board and began performing Ollie's. He began to lean off the board at a complete 180 and somehow was seemingly staying on."I don't know how but I could even lean off the board like I was doing limbo and be able to stay on."

"Alright then, let's test it. I'm gonna use the pipe to go back but there's a ladder leading up to the street over there. Nicole I want you to keep a eye on how he does then send me the footage. Spike, take the ladder and ride the board back."

"Wait a minute. Are you kidding me? Through all the traffic and everything. Rotor I don't know, I haven't actually learned everything I need to, this would be a suicide run."

"You'll be fine dragon. Now get moving."

Rotor returned to the pipe and waved as he vanished into the pipe. "Can we just walk Nicole?"

"Hey you want into that team right?"

"Well yea but.."

"No excuses Spike. Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with obstacles and this is perfect practice. Let's hope that dragon power of yours kicks in. Now up the ladder."

"Oh Celestia....Fine."

Spike made his way up the long ladder and finally appeared at the top. Nicole guided him out of the construction site and back to the street leading north back up to the park and Rotor's shop. Spike looked out onto the street seeing no oncoming cars, he thought himself safe. As soon as his foot touched the road, an onslaught of cars quickly brought his foot back. "Don't you hate when that happens. Get out there Spike and do your best."

"Um..how. There's no gaps."

"Look closely. What may seem like no gaps is actually the widest gap you'll get. Focus, slow it down."

Spike became frantic with no way to jump in without getting hit. Nicole placed her hands on the side of Spike's face gently rubbed his temples. Spike's frantic state suddenly diminished, his fear drowned as he began to relax at the Nicole's touch. That's when he saw it, The cars began to slow down ever slightly. Eventually creating gaps that seemed like miles in width. "What's going on?"

"Doubt is your sole enemy. Those who doubt will often imagine and create things are not. The cars may seem like they're going to fast but should that person stay calm, focus, and believe that they can do it, they'll see a completely different outcome."

"Wow.."

"Stay calm and you'll see what others can't. Now get moving Spike."

Spike hopped on his board and kicked off drifting into oncoming traffic from the north. Spike began to wind his way through the passing cars trying to his best stay calm. Everything seemed relatively good until the sound of a large 18-wheeler made it's way into his mind. He stared forward as the large truck neared him. His focus and concentration began to break as he saw cars on both sides of the truck cutting off any evasion. The cars began to speed up once again as his fear began to return to his mind. "I'm so dead."

"Spike jump!"

With no error, Spike took off into the air, ramping off the air dam and gliding over it's cargo. He landed on the street and continued through traffic. "I'm alive....that..was awesome!."

"Remember what I said about doubt. Always look for a way out even if it seems impossible. Now stay focused."

"Right." Spike sustained his motion through the cars easily maneuvering between them. Finally Spike made it to Rotor's shop, hopping off his board and placing it under his arm. "Rotor we're here."

Spike and Nicole made their way into the back of the shop to see Rotor no where in sight. A slight difference in scenery however was the door adjacent to the front counter was wide open. "In here guys."

They took a few steps over to the door until a familiar voice caught their attention. "So this Sonic's board huh. Mind If I hang onto it?"

"No you can't take the board as a souvenir. Don't you have other things to do?"

Spike and Nicole stepped into the room and were met with a female's face Nicole is none to happy to see. "Oh it's..you.."

"I have a name you know and..oh who's this?"

Spike held out his claw. "I'm Spike, nice to meet you."

The girl returned a handshake and bent her legs to bow. "My name is Amy Rose, nice to meet you. Say, you don't seem like you're from around here."

"I really don't feel like explaining this again so I'll just say it. I'm from a different world and am trying to get home but the only way to do that is by racing in this Grand Prix, whew."

"A different world? It's nothing new i guess since we tend to go on those kind of adventures every week."

"I've heard that alot especially from Sonic."

Amy grabbed Spike's shoulders and pulled him in close. "You saw Sonic?!"

"Um..yea.."

"Please tell me where?!"

"Wait why?"

"I need to find him. I made him lunch two hours ago and he hasn't shown up yet."

"Well see...Nicole help me out."

Nicole gently pried Amy's hands from Spike's shoulders and patted her. "Look I know you like Sonic and all but just give it up will ya?"

"No way, my tarot cards said we would be together and I plan to make that a reality."

"Alright, get your heart broken. He ran out of town to the east."

"Sonic I'm coming! Don't you dare leave me!"

Amy bolted out of the shop in a blur. Nicole slightly chuckled to herself as Spike began thinking about the directions. "Wait Sonic rode out to the west not the east."

"Don't tell her that. Anyway Rotor that footage is in your storage."

"Thanks Nicole, just got too interested in working on Sonic's board. Tails did some truly ungodly work upgrading it."

"Well even though Tails is a kid, he has to be the smartest fox we know. Oh dear, Spike it's time.

"Already? Well let's hope this doesn't go south."

Rotor moved Sonic's board off the table and pointed to Spike's. "Quick before you go, let me tweak it a little just make sure it works right." Spike handed Rotor the board as he whipped out a few different tools and began messing with board. "Alright...one more..and there. you should be good to go. Go knock em dead Spike."

"Spike gave a thumbs up and exited the shop. Nicole digitized back into Spike's wrist as he took off across the street and through the park. "You remember where the meet up is at right Spike?"

"Yea..kinda."

"Don't hesitate to ask if you forget."

"Thanks Nicole." After twenty minutes, Spike finally spotted the two sitting at a large bench next to a vacant street. "Spike I told you to ask me for directions if you get lost."

"I thought I knew where it was. I swear I did. We made it though so that works I guess."

Korbin jumped up as Spike hopped off his board." "Oh my god you made it."

Lindsey stood up and looked at her watch. "Nice to see you, of course you were a little late."

"Sorry I was little....lost."

"No worries Spike, it's a big city. If you're ready we can get started."

"Sure...I think."

"What's the matter Spike?"

"Um..nothing just a bit nervous is all."

"Well don't doubt yourself or you'll slip up. Korbin, can you set up the bot?"

"Yes mam."

Korbin grabbed something from under the bench and placed it on street. Upon pressing a button, the small circular robot spike recognized from the tower hovered slightly off the ground. Once again two hatches opened up revealing a small hole through the center but this one didn't shoot off with turbulence. Instead it made one straight line about five feet across and only a couple of feet off the ground. A transparent board popped up next to the line with one,two, and three in straight line down. "Wait what is that?"

Lindsey giggled at what she thought was spike joking. "This finish line silly. This Robot helps us keep track of everything, speed and time mostly. Let us waste no more time though, the sign up will end soon. Are you guys ready?"

Korbin gave salute and smiled. "Ready!"

Spike gulped and nodded. "Ready..."

Lindsey waved her hand in front of the robot which began the countdown in a robotic voice. "3......2.....1....Go!"

Rev up that Gear: Memories and Condensation

Rev up that Gear: Initiation

Spike wiped the forming sweat from his forehead as the countdown neared zero. He put his foot down preparing for the take off as the robot finished the countdown. "2...1....Go!"

Spike kicked off in a burst of speed about 2 seconds earlier than Lindsey and Korbin. Thinking he made the perfect the start he turned back to see the two who just now kicked off. He smiled at his success which would soon become horror. He turned back in front of him to witness the electric barrier still partially raised and in the act of going down. He jerked around in a fit of pain as the current nailed him and his board to just before the starting line allowing both Korbin and Lindsey to pass him up. The current finally stopped and allowed spike movement again. "What in Celestia's name was that?"

Nicole partially formed in front of him. "I thought Rotor taught you that one. That line is meant to stop people to starting too early, If they do they get hit with an electric current. Now hurry and get moving."

Spike slightly twitched as he responded. "Oh yea..r..right?" Spike kicked off down the street, the road beginning to curve downward towards a gigantic ramp. Up ahead, Korbin and Lindsey had just jumped the ramp and were in the motion of landing on the rest of the road ahead. Spike gave himself one good push off with his foot as he headed down the ramp and started bending his legs. "Alright I can do this. Bend the legs, remember to choose your moves wisely depending on how much air I get, timing is key." Spike let out a breath to relax his body as the ramp quickly rushed towards him. As his board began to angle up, he launched himself with great precision. Upon catching major air, he leaned down, grabbed the middle of his board and spun 360 degrees in an inverted fashion putting himself upside and right side up again. As he ended his trick and looked in front of him he noticed the road much higher than usual. "Alright bring the knees in." Without an issue he safely landed and continued down the path. The road continued straight for quite a while until another small ramp at the end of it said otherwise. Spike quickly Ollied off the ramp into a front 180. As he landed, he felt a sudden boost of speed. "Hey what happened?"

Nicole's voice rang out of his armpad. "After successfully landing a trick, the air inside your board is increased with a burst of speed. I can see Korbin and Lindsey up ahead but like this you won't be able to catch them. Do you see those rings in the air over there with the arrows pointing to them?"

The straight road seemed to split in two and down the middle, a ramp and set of high flying rings. "Yea what about them?"

"We're going for a ride, jump off the board when I say so." A effort could be heard as Nicole grunted to do something. Suddenly Spike heard the sound of rings being collected. "Jump now!"

Spike took one quick hop as his board transformed in a flash of yellow. He landed back on it with shock. "Hey you made it transform."

"Now hit that ramp and ride the wind." Spike did just that airing off the ramp and boosting off through one of the rings. "Keep going through them until you see no more Spike."

Each ring seemed to give him a small boost of air as he soared over what seemed to be a gigantic drop. He hit the last ring and came to speedy landing on the ground ahead. Korbin and Lindsey looked behind them to see Spike only feet away. "Hey Lindsey he finally caught up."

"Indeed he did." Spike's modification returned back to his original board as he slowly made his way in between the two ladies. "You're doing pretty good Spike. Catching up was the first test."

"I'm sorry did you say test?"

Korbin laughed. "Yea silly. Now it's time for test two."

Lindsey pointed up ahead. "The course is pretty basic. One straight part of the road from the start leading up to a turn up ahead then another straight road leading to a curve which the finish line is after. You got a straight shot and a curve to beat before the finish line and just to make sure you don't think we let everyone join, you got to beat us there."

Spike jaw dropped in horror. "You mean I actually have to race....for real?"

Lindsey giggled. "You got it. The first curve's coming up so keep your Ex Gear in check, we won't be going easy anymore. Korbin let's show him what we can do."

"Oh sweet, I get to show off."

All three of them made the turn easily but as Spike's view came upon the the straightened road, he began to have a moment of deja vu, lots of cars barreling down the road towards. From the start about halfway down the road, Korbin and Lindsey were having no issue weaving through the traffic but for Spike, the experience was all to familiar. He frantically moved his board through the cars watching as each one passing him got closer and closer intent on trading paint with his board and trading death with him. He closed his eyes and sighed as one car sure enough made it's straight at him. Spike attempted a jump only to have his board knocked completely from under him and into the air alongside him. His hearing and conscience seemed to fade away time slowed down as he flew through the air, dead set was his mind on crashing into a oncoming car. But there it was again, the feeling of an absolute calm and collected mind. The feeling of someone's fingers at his temples. He looked up to see Nicole massaging the sides of his head but just as it seemed she was there, suddenly there was no one, the feeling he had was completely in his head. He turned back towards the cars to see their now slowed pace. "I'm calm?.....I doing it by myself?...I remember her words now...Doubt is your sole enemy. Those who doubt will often imagine and create things are not."

Spike closed his eyes for a mere second and turned straight towards the ground before opening them again as his pupils dilated to that of small slits. He flipped over seconds before a car could have his face for dinner, sliding off the top of the car and jumping up to grab his board out of mid air. He planted it under his feet and landed weaving in and out of traffic with no problem. He dilated pupils focused on Korbin and Lindsey up ahead with a determination like no other. He found a moment of peace within the cars and immediately planted his foot on the ground. He pushed off like a rocket, gaining enough speed to reach in front of his competition and even knock some of the cars off their course. Both of them gasped in amazement as Spike appeared in front of them with ease. He looked back with a smile upon his face as Korbin threw her arms up in shock. "How did you do that?! We were sure you were toast for a second."

"I don't know, I just.....stayed calm." As the two process his answer, he took off in a burst of speed. "What are you guys doing? You're falling behind." Lindsey shook her head to come back reality and angrily but jokingly glared at him. "Hey that's our line."

Both Lindsey and Korbin caught up but somehow Spike maintained a constant speed locking his position in front of them. He crossed the finish line first hopping off as Korbin and Lindsey crossed after him. It was then that Lindsey stopped and stared directly into Spike's eyes as he unknowingly reverted them back to normal size. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Your eyes......"

"Um...what about them."

Lindsey eventually realized how serious she was being and reverted to touching her fingers together nervously. "Oh nothing! Just a little curious you know."

"Oh...so....am I in?"

Korbin appeared behind and jumped on him like a piggy back ride. "You're so in, that was so cool how you were almost toast then suddenly flipped over and rode the top of that car!"

Spike rubbed the back of his neck, knowing all too well what had occurred. "It was just a bit of luck is all."

"With that kind of skill?! Bad luck is just afraid of you mister. And I say we go out a celebrate our newest member."

Lindsey took hold of Korbin's leotard and yanked her off of Spike's back. "Let's not also forget about the sign up sheet. We'll need to make our way over there before we do anything else."

"Awww! Can't we get food first? Please?"

"Afterwards Korbin."

She crossed her arms scowling at the response. "Fine..."

"Spike if you have other things to do, I suppose you can meet us at the sign up sheet right?"

"Oh no I'm perfectly fine, not like I had things to do in the first place."

Lindsey and Korbin hopped on their gear and motioned Spike to follow as they took off. Spike followed far behind as they made their way back towards Hyper Tower. Nicole popped out of Spike's wrist in a much smaller scale able to sit casually upon his wrist. They were far enough that their conversations would be more private. "So what happened back there?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you were about plant yourself face first into a car. More Draconian power?"

"Well no actually, I think it was more around the term, instincts."

"Instincts? I see."

"I can't tell you what happened in detail but I do know that in this world, events have boosted my feral instincts beyond any of my normal limits."

"I really need to research your world Spike, it's very intriguing. Lindsey and Korbin seemed to have noticed you, i'll talk to later."

Spike looked up and covered his wrist as Korbin and Lindsey began to look back. They motioned to catch up in which he did so, pretty soon they finally reached the tower where three separate teams of 3 were sitting around. Spike nervously avoided eye contact as they made their way towards the sign up sheet. Lindsey picked up the electronic pencil provided and began signing the team's names on a pad in the wall. "Give me a sec to finish up our names and..alright. And who's our competition this time? Team Chaos, Cosmic and Babylon. Of course team Babylon is joining the race."

Korbin tapped Lindsey on the shoulder. "And what's our downright awesome team name?"

"I....I'm still lost on that one."

All three put the fingers to their chin in thought. Spike was first to fire away. "Team....Ex?" They all shook their head. Korbin was next. "Team Draco?" They once again all shook their heads. Lindsey snapped with a smile. "Team Terror." Both Spike and Korbin gave a thumbs down. "Team lynx?" Once again, she was met with a thumbs down. "Ok then I got nothing else. What am I supposed to do combine them? Team Terrilynx sounds pretty........awesome actually."

Spike and Korbin switched their thumbs down to thumbs up and flashed a wide smile. Lindsey penciled down the name and highfived her teammates.

As they began to walk away however, Spike was suddenly shoulder checked losing balance and falling flat on his butt. A voice sarcastically responded, "Sorry didn't see ya there pint size."

Spike looked up to his attacker only to see a vixen of a canary standing above him and staring intently. Spike the blood rush to face as he stared back. "Holy crap...."

"Yo pint you ok?

"F...fine.."

"Then get up would ya." Spike raced to his feet like a spring and stood stiff as a board as the girl continued to look at him. Her face soon became annoyed at his stillness. "Hey you got a screw loose or something?"

Spike realized his stupidity and dropped his nervous expression. "Um...sorry..I...you're just so..."

Another mobian's voice echoed from nearby obviously in enraged tone. "Neon would you get your butt over here?!"

"Oh man I'm sorry baby."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Jet got it?"

The green hawk stopped a couple of feet away from Spike and his team with no other mission besides retrieving his teammate. "I'm so sorry Jet, I just wanted to check the other teams."

"Stop acting like a kid would ya? We got training to do."

"I didn't think it would cost us so much time, please forgive me!"

The Canary latched onto Jet's arm with no thought letting go anytime soon. Jet frantically yelled and shook his arm up and down as if in some kind of cartoon. After about a minute of this, Jet sighed and snapped his fingers. Storm removed Jet's issue, tossed her over his shoulder, and carried her off to bench nearby holding onto her with no intention of letting go. Jet dusted himself off and pointed to Spike. "So you guys are our new competition huh?" Spike nodded. "What's your name dragon?"

"Spike."

Jet smirked and began to walk around Spike observing him. "Why ya so nervous Spike? Did something spook you or do you already know who I am?"

Korbin shot to Spike's side as jet returned to original position. "Leave him alone Jet. He's new here and the last thing I want is for him to pick up any bad impressions."

"Bad impressions? Ha! If anything he should be idolizing me and the Babylon Rouges considering that we're the best team on the market."

Lindsey strolled over Spike's side as well with a smirk on her face. "Last time I checked, the Babylon lost the last three Grand Prix."

This pushed a bit of anger to Jet's face but he cast it aside with another smirk. "No thanks to Sonic the hedgehog. That blue nuisance has been a thorn in my side for too long. But do you see that joke anywhere? I didn't think so, the one person who could possibly save your unskillful butts is nowhere to be seen and that means that the usual second place winner which is us by the way is taking the race all the way to Sonic's big fat ego."

Neon could be heard in the distance struggling against Storm. "Let me go Storm! You tell 'em Honey!"

"Would you be quiet Neon! Storm hold her better."

Lindsey laughed a Jet sighed and turned back towards them. "Seems someone is interested in you. Where's your tech nerd Wave?"

"N..None of your business. Forget this I'm out, you losers watch your back."

Jet walked off motioning storm to follow with Neon in tow. Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Who in Equestria were those guys?"

Lindsey laughed and patted Spike on the back. "That my young dragon friend was team Babylon. The self proclaimed, fastest team on a EX gear ever."

"Well shouldn't that mean that they're the fastest?"

"When I said self proclaimed I meant it. Their skill is only as big as Jet's ego so don't you worry about it."

"I feel like I should."

Spike was instantly knocked off balance by Korbin once again jumping on his back. "Can we please go eat now?! I'm so hungry!"

Lindsey once again removed Korbin from Spike and smiled. "I know just the place."

One hour later, all three emerged from a small fish restaurant rubbing their bellies and stretching while Spike took his forked tongue and licked his lips in joy. "Wow I never knew fish were this good."

Korbin patted her belly and smiled. "I never knew that big cat could cook. What was his name again?"

Lindsey sighed. "Big the cat Korbin. His name was Big the cat."

"Oh..um.." She stuck out her tongue and rubbed the back of her head. She looked up as the light began to dim beyond the horizon. "Looks like it's getting dark. We should rest up for tomorrow, we ride like the wind."

Lindsey chuckled and hopped on her board. "Alright Korbin let's go already. See ya later Spike."

A voice rang out before they could take off stopping mid boost. "Please wait!" Nicole shot out Spike's wrist and digitized herself to her full form. "May I ask a request on behalf of Spike?" Spike attempted to slowly back away as he nervously pushed his fingers together and stared at the floor. As he turned to slip around a corner, Nicole took hold of his tail and held him as he attempted to run. His actions only led him to run in place as Nicole smiled and spoke. "It would take too much time to explain to you the details of his situation but I can say this. Spike here is from another world and this has led him to having no funds as to do much of anything. If it's not to much to ask, may he spend the night at home?"

Lindsey put her finger to her chin for a few moments then smiled. "Well certainly, a member of the team is like family to me. Korbin you ok with a bit of company?"

"Sweet fresh meat."

Spike tensed up at the response. "What is she talking about?"

Lindsey nervously chuckled and waved away the question. "She means nothing by it believe me. Word of advice though, when you're in the same room as her, make sure to watch your tail."

"My tail.."

"Just remember that and you'll be fine. Come on let's get going."

All three hopped on their boards and drifted into traffic heading west into suburbs of the city. Spike slowed down as Nicole sat on his wrist again. "Nicole I..don't know what to say. I would've been way too nervous to say anything had it not been for you."

"Spike, there was no way I was just going to let you stay here homeless. I'd be a heartless person if I just sat back and watched."

"Thank you Nicole. But I still have one issue."

"Hmm?"

"Well you see the thing is....This is a very different world...."

"Yes.."

"And everything here looks so different.."

"I'm listening."

"Well...um....every female should I say...is kinda......"

"Hot."

"W...well...I..I wou...wouldn't say that..it's just that.."

"You can't fool me Spike. I've seen you drooling over Lindsey, that Neon girl, even me when we first met. It's no crime if you're attracted to us."

"Holy crap, I've never seen someone so chill about something like this."

"I've had alot men look at me that way Spike. I learned early how to deal with it."

"Well I didn't."

"But aren't you friends with a bunch of females back in Equestria."

"Yea but I know them too well, they're like family to me. This is different, I don't know anyone here. Every girl here seems to get my heart pumping at every turn and now you're sticking me in a house alone with two attractive ones."

"Spike you're a grown man, you can control your urges can't you?"

"Well yea but it screws me up inside."

"Well let's hope you get a separate room."

With that Nicole vanished back into Spike's wrist. He sighed and caught back up to Lindsey and Korbin. After a few blocks and turns, they finally emerged within a gigantic neighborhood with houses as far as the eye can see. One block seemed to go on forever until a left turn led them to a cul-de-sac where they stopped in front of one of the houses. Spike made his observations as he rested his eyes on the home. Light blue paint, window with beige curtains next to the front door, garage on the side of it all. Lindsey shrugged and opened a small hatch on the side of the garage revealing a keypad. "Just your typical everyday home....on the outside anyway."

Spike raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Korbin rushed beside the garage door as Lindsey inputted the code to open it. "Well Spike, your typical home interior would be bland and tasteless but we're not your typical home owners." The garage began to open slowly as Lindsey and Korbin acted out a pose as if to present something behind a curtain. Lindsey and Korbin both shouted simultaneously, "Welcome to home sweet home!"

Spike's jaw instantly hit the floor as he feast his eyes upon the beautiful sight. "No way....."

Rev up that Gear: Enemy or Respect

Rev up that Gear: Memories and Condensation

And Sonic said Tails was a gear head geez. Spike thought as he admired the garage. Boards and accessories as far as the garage could fit. "You guys sure got alot of gear."

"Blame Korbin." Lindsey chimed in. "She practically buys just about everything she can get her claws on."

"Can you blame me?" Korbin quickly responded in defense. "Each gear is like a little baby to me, every type and every accessory that goes with it."

Spike quickly huddled next to Lindsey as Korbin cuddled with the nearest board in sight, even continuing on to kiss it like it were a real person. "From what I saw, those boards are pretty expensive, how does she afford them?"

"I don't know how she even affords one. I imagine she has some kind of job or something that she hasn't told me about." Lindsey then ripped the board away from her and placed it back on it's respective rack. "Would you knock it off and help me get Spike settled in?"

Korbin crossed her arms and growled like a kitten before motioning Spike to follow her inside. They made their way from the garage to a small hallway where a variety of paintings hung. "These are nice pictures. Who are they of?"

Lindsey giggled, the memories coming back to her. "This is our history Spike. Our fathers were friends back in day and thanks to that,"

"Me and Lin Lin have been friends since we were kids." Korbin quickly responded jumping on Lindsey's back.

"I told you not to call me Lin Lin."

"But it's so cuteee!"

"I know, that's why I said stop calling me that."

"Can I atleast stay on your back, it's comfy."

"You're just a big housecat aren't you? The first EX Gear was developed 30 years ago, at least the first prototype."

"And guess what? Our papas were the first to test them."

"The way they described it, it was something otherworldly for them. Straight out of the future, as if defying what the earth planned."

"They got so much better and eventually helped develop the first successful EX Gear. They were the most awesome riders to touch an Ex Gear, so awesome that the gods themselves graced them."

"Korbin stop exaggerating. Anyway, 19 pictures sit on this wall, all of the amazing feats our family accomplished. This one, 25 years ago, my father won the first Grand Prix."

"And this one, 2 years later, my dad won the next one." Korbin happily added.

"Soon, our mother became interested in riding, then our uncles, aunts, and cousins, and so on and so forth until we and our cousins were the family's next generation of riders."

Spike thought himself before putting 2 and 2 together. "You said "our" mother?"

"Oh yes, we're half sisters." Lindsey said with a smile. "As you can see in this one over here, our mother was a monkey. She met our fathers about 20 years ago but couldn't bear to choose between them. The two were inseparable and choosing between them would more than likely cause tension between them. So she choose them both. My father was a monkey and so, 1 year later, I was born a monkey."

"And mine was a cat, so one year later, I was born a cute little kitty cat."

Spike smiled as he continued to observe the pictures. "Most of the time, something like that would cause tension between a family, having two dads you know. But somehow someway, you guys worked it out and have happy family."

A sudden tear came to Spike's cheek, his mind in heavy thought. Lindsey instantly took notice and gently wiped his tear away. "Spike, are you ok?"

"Yea...yea just..."

Both Lindsey and Korbin looked at each other, concern for the young dragon on their faces. "Spike....where are your parents?"

"Well...I..I don't know."

"Did they...leave you?"

"I have...no idea. I was born from an egg...by the number 1 girl in the world, Twilight Sparkle. She's done so much for me, I might as well call her mom."

"So this Twilight Sparkle isn't your mom?"

"Well no...she's a pony...and I'm a dragon. I imagine I did have parents, else I wouldn't be here. As for what happened while I was in that egg that somehow ended me up in the hooves of ponies...I don't know."

"Spike..."

"I miss them and I don't even know them. If I had one chance to meet them, just one...I would.....Um sorry, I didn't mean to push my sob story on you."

"No no, it's ok right Korbin?"

"Yea Spike, everyone needs to vent a little every once in awhile."

Spike smiled and wiped the last of his tears. "Thanks for listening. Well anyway, what's this empty frame for?"

"Well everyone of the families under our family tree has their respective wall of pictures and everyone has done something to land them a spot on it."

"They either won Grand Prix, huge battle competitions, or even did something totally out of this world." Korbin excitedly added.

"That empty frame is ours, for when we do something spectacular. For when we do something that will top anything anyone has ever thought of. We're gonna do something so amazing that winning a Grand Prix will old news. Of course we have to top.....her." Lindsey said pointing to a picture of a white monkey with red eye shadow apparently in the middle of race.

"Who is she?"

"She was a family friend and the best EX teacher in all of Mobius."

"Least in our opinion." Korbin added. "She taught us everything we know about the sport, but recently she's become a bit...jerky...jerkish? Well she's a jerk just to simplify it."

"We all looked up to her at one point in time. She owns the top spot on the leaderboard for her 3 consecutive Grand Prix wins. No one else can claim that title, not even Sonic the hedgehog has won 3 in a row."

"Really?" Spike said surprised. "He told me he was pretty good."

Lindsey chuckled. "And he is. He's just as fast on that board as he his on his feet. But 3 wins is a long risk. You're talking making to the finals every single time against well suited riders not to mention the skill of the finalist his or herself. We just need to find our chance, something that will earn us that spot at the top."

"Well," Spike began. "Sonic and his friends are held in pretty high standards from what I saw of their races, even discovered the lost home of the babylonians I think Sonic said. If you beat them, it would be a pretty astounding feat."

Korbin quickly and excitedly jumped up and down. "Oh yea, he's not wrong. Those guys came into the scene and like a blur, they were nailing 1st place spots and everything. If we beat them, that would help our cause."

Lindsey thought about it for a moment then smiled. "Well, our dads do kinda admire Sonic and his friends. If we beat the legendary Blue Blur then this achievement would be set in stone."

Spike nodded and gave a quick thumbs up. "Then it's decided. Our first goal will be acing the EX 4 Ever World Grand Prix."

Everyone gave a playful cheer as they agreed and continued their tour of their home. They exited the hallway and entered the living room where on the left lay the kitchen and the front door, and on the right lay a mounted flat screen, 2 beds, and a couch in between them. Korbin pushed Spike as they made their way towards the beds. "Welcome to where the fun happens stud."

"Korbin." Lindsey annoyingly called out.

"Can't I just have a little fun with him?"

Those words brought a deep blush to Spike's cheeks and warmness to his body. Hopefully, Lindsey would diffuse the situation."He is a guest Korbin, a new and fragile one at that."

"Aww fine. As you can see, the kitchen's over there where I make all my delicious meals for us."

"A live tuna on a sandwich is not my ideal idea of a delicious meal."

"It is for me. And over here are our beds. You can sleep on the couch unfortunately."

Again the blush on his cheeks was apparently clear." If you guys sleep out here, then what's in the back?"

"Well every pro has to have one simulation chamber."

"Simulation chamber?"

"For days when there's nothing EX related going on outside. That or it's raining or snowing really bad and too dangerous to ride."

Lindsey then tossed Spike a can of soda before continuing upon Korbin's explanation. "The chamber uses a Virtual Reality system to project an environment into your mind. It disables motor functions so you can ride as if in real life. You're basically still getting practice just in your head."

Spike gasped with excitement. "That's really awesome."

"Ex news says it's possibly going to pour down tomorrow, so maybe we'll give a whirl if you really want to. Honestly though, I'm really tired and I didn't even notice. I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep any sooner."

"Me either. I need sleep neooow." Korbin said as she stretched.

Suddenly the two began removing their added clothes. First their shoes, then their gloves, all the way until they wore nothing but those leotards. Spike sat motionless, the blush stronger than ever as if a force was forcing him to admire their forms. "You ok Spike?" Lindsey asked.

"Y-yea...just...I...you guys are..."

"I think he's embarrassed." Nicole's voice chimed in as she appeared full size out of spike's wrist.

"Look Lindsey, it's Nicole."

"Long time no see you two."

Spike cocked his head in confusion. "You guys know each other?"

"Well I have friends too Spike. I met them a couple of years ago at cafe. We got to talking and turns out we had alot in common. Besides, I can't be Nicole the computer program forever."

Korbin rushed to hug Nicole like she was prey. "I missed you so much!"

"You too Korbin. Have you been behaving yourself lately?"

"Of course I have. I'm not as bad as you think I am."

".....Lindsey."

"She "accidentally" clawed a guy's face a week ago."

"Accidentally? What happened Korbin." She said an annoyed motherly tone.

"Well..." Suddenly she dropped to her and pouted like a small child. "I..may have gotten a little mad at him..."

"For?"

"He said I was doing a move wrong."

"I'm waiting Korbin."

"He said I was doing a move wrong."

"And that gave you reason to claw his face?"

"He was basically bullying me."

"I think he was giving you advice. Now I want you to think about about your actions before you claw another guy's face ok?"

"Ok..."

"Good, now drink your soda."

"Yes mam."

Both you and Lindsey stared at eachother with confusion but just shook your heads. "Say, I just noticed but how did you and Spike meet?" Lindsey asked, her curiosity peaking.

Nicole looked at me then nodded. Spike sighed then explained my entire dilemma to them to which they both seemed overly shocked, stopping whatever they were doing no matter what it was. "You mean when you said you were from another world, you actually meant another world?" Korbin said, soda dripping out of her mouth.

"Yea, I thought you understood that."

"Well when you said another world I was thinking maybe off planet or something but to just jump an entire dimension, that's insane."

"It's quite the surprise to me." Lindsey said sounding genuinely surprised. "Look, I'm a little too tired to take this all in so if we could get some sleep first and hopefully redo this tomorrow, that'd be great."

Everyone nodded mentally thanking Lindsey for bringing it to their attention. Korbin made her way under her bed and pulled out a pillow and some covers. "Probably gonna need these Spike."

"Actually, I'm quite fond of a nice cool room."

"Really?"

"I'm a dragon remember. Some things are different for me. First thing is I like to be a little cold when I sleep, like i'm in a cave."

"Alright then." Korbin returned the two items under her bed and hopped in, pulling the covers over her immediately.

Lindsey slowly slid into hers pulling her covers over her and replacing her eyesight with an eye mask. "Goodnight everyone." she said turning off the light on her side.

Korbin proceeded to do the same and just like that, the room was dark. A few hours passed and soon everyone was out cold, everyone except for Spike. He sighed sitting up from his comfortable position. His eyes slowly shifted, looking at the floor as he was lost in thought, then at Korbin and Lindsey. "...Where's my board?" he said picking up his wrist pad as he looked for it.

Spotting it by the side of the room, he picked it up and approached the front door, not before looking back in concern. He unlocked the door and exited before closing it. A few minutes later, he was riding back into the night, the city within a football fields reach. "And where do you think you're going?" Nicole quickly fired out as she appeared on his wrist pad.

"I'm just....going somewhere to think."

"Think about what?"

"Some...things. Do you know where a cliff is or something?"

"If I show you where it is, will you tell me what's up? Pleeeeease?" she asked, her puppy dog eyes paying tribute to the question.

"Ok yes, just please stop with the eyes. I get enough of that from Pinkie and Rainbow." Soon enough to Nicole's instructions, they arrived at a large cliff about a mile of the highway on the edge of the city. Spike looked out to the everlasting desert, the sands and dunes shifting with each second as he put his feet over the side and sat down. "(Sigh)"

"I can tell whatever it is is pretty heavy. Come on, you promised. I'm a good listener I swear."

"Alright alright, just give me a second." He took a deep breath then let it out. "I've...been thinking."

"About that conversation earlier? About your parents?"

"You don't miss a beat do you?"

"And what exactly about them are you thinking?"

"I just wonder...what if I met them? Would anything have changed if I did? Would I even be here?"

"Now Spike, I understand where you're coming from but you can't just imagine it and it will come true. There are alot of things I would have liked to change in my own life...Robotnik's takeover you know. Would have saved so many lives...but then I think, would anything I know and love today still be here? Would I have stayed in that computer and always been a program instead of living mobian?"

"I see your point. I guess i've been here so long that I never really though all my friends back home."

"See, a couple of sentences and you're already better. I guess you came out for nothing huh?"

"Nah, I'm still gonna stay out here and think."

"If you say so. Just think about what I said."

"I will." Nicole disappeared and Spike was left to really wonder what it might have been like if he had met his parents. I mean if I did, I imagine so many things would be so different. I'd have a father and a mother to play with, to give me advice, to give me courage in a time like this. Hmm...but then I would never had known the ponies. Twilight's magical prowess always inspired me to do better, Pinkie always kept me happy even when I was down. I most likely would hate ponies too...I guess that's a few negatives to being raised by dragons. Suddenly Spike heard another voice besides his own, one that was feminine and obviously distressed. He searched for it, wondering who it was. After following the sound for a while, he noticed a cliff even lower than the one he was on and sitting at its edge was a girl. Spike quickly dropped down, setting his board down on the rocks and walking towards her. "Excuse me..."

Suddenly she jumped up and screamed, "I swear if you have that Neon girl with you!" Spike dropped to the ground, his heart feeling like it was beating twice as fast as normal. "Oh..um sorry about that kid." she said extending a hand to him. "If you need the cliff it's yours. I was just leaving."

"Hey wait a minute. Were you thinking about something too?"

"Why should it be any of your business?"

"I mean....I came here to think too so...It's better to get it out to someone, you know....I'll just go if you don't wanna talk about it. Sorry for bothering you."

Spike began to walk away until a yank on his tail made him breath a little fire before turning around. "Alright kid, I'll bite. Can't be worse than what's already happened."

Both of them sat down back at the edge of the cliff as they stared into the cloudy moonlit sky. "You mentioned a name a second ago, Neon right?"

"Yea what about it?"

"I met a girl named Neon today, along with with two other birds, one of which was the kind of guy that seems like he likes to bully new competition."

"That's jet alright."

"So you know them?"

"Know them? We're practically family."

"So why weren't you there at sign ups?"

"Because Neon knows a few different things that make her suddenly a gear expert but while my methods are left in the dust."

"What are your methods then?"

"Slow and calculated hard work kid. The kind of work an EX Gear really deserves to be the best but no, fast and to the point wins the race apparently."

"You're Wave aren't you?"

"Yep, best EX tuner in the world."

"Better than Tails?"

She took the fetal position placing her head within her knees. "No..."

"I probably shouldn't have said that."

"No...I'm glad you did actually. I mean if I could tell you the truth and I swear if you laugh..."

"I won't, I swear."

"I like jet, well...liked jet until I saw he was really a jerk with feathers. That was rubbing off on me and poor storm so I gave him an ultimatum, fix his act or I leave."

"Well I think I got that."

"Can't believe he replaced me with that pretty girl. Am I not good enough or something?"

"Well you're certainly beautiful, there's no doubting it." She quickly jerked her head to stare at him to which he quickly waved his hands in defense. "I-I mean it's just that you are very pretty is all I'm saying. Maybe he's just looking for a girl that he can control."

"And how do you figure that."

"Well I learned to read people very well. He has a big ego and it seems like he likes to be in control all the time based on how he treats Neon. That's probably why he got rid of you."

"Huh? Never thought about it like that."

"I imagine if he lost control, he gets very insecure and very doubtful. Or in the case of losing to Sonic, Denial and a competitive nature. At least that's what Sonic told me he was like."

"You seem to know your stuff kid. You said Sonic told you that?"

"Yea."

"Any chance you talked to Tails?"

"No, not at all. Apparently they're setting up the Grand Prix and not really talking to anyone."

"Darn..."

"He seems important to you."

"He is not. He's just some rookie mechanic that got good at messing with EX Gear. So what if he as smart as he is cute...I don't care."

"I get the feeling you do care."

"So what if I do? It's not like I can change the past and suddenly be all nice and buddy buddy with him."

"Well you can't deny your feelings Wave. I remember some advice someone gave me. I know it sounds weird but if you hadn't been a babylon rouge, would you have even had the chance to meet Tails?"

"I...guess not. I would still be on that island doing nothing."

"So why not use that past to turn this negative into a positive?"

"How am I going to do that? I'm not even in the races."

"Well, maybe I'm being overly generous here and a little too optimistic, but what if we got you your chance."

"Come again?"

"Well you say you're a hardcore EX mechanic right? What if you joined our team and just maybe if we win, you'll get the chance to talk to him."

"Moving a little fast aren't we?"

"I mean yes but it's a opportunity I suppose."

"And the only one I'll get until the end of the Grand Prix.....You know what, I'll think about it."

"Cool. Well I gotta go so I hope you say yes."

"Later kid."

"And my name's Spike, not kid."

"Sorry, later Spike."

Just as Spike was about to leave, rain began to drip down from the clouds above. He continued to walk until it began to come down harder and harder. Within a minute, it was pouring with a mist blocking Spike's vision almost instantly. He felt his way to his board, grabbing it and barely being able to make a step towards wherever he could seek shelter. Suddenly a scream got his attention. His highly attuned ears picked it up immediately coming from the cliff face where Wave was sitting. He dropped the board and quickly made his towards the cliff where instinctively reached out. He caught feeling of Wave's hand over the cliff face and latched on without error. "Hold on!"

"I don't really have a choice!"

He struggled to pull her up, the rain making his traction slip from under him. He was practically over the cliff at this point and if he didn't pull her up now, they would both fall to rocky sand dunes below, and with the rain, the desert is now a deathtrap of quicksand. Suddenly that draconic feeling kicked in, his arms feeling like they were 10x stronger. He pulled her up with ease and jumped back watching as the cliff began to crumble only seconds afterwards. "You ok?!" he managed to get out though the sound of the overpowering rain.

"Get us out of this rain and maybe that'll be a yes!"

"Right!"

Spike quickly moved them to a group of trees blocking out most of the drenching rain before he went back out, grabbed his board, and returned. They both were breathing heavily, the verge of death will do that. After a few seconds, they let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for that ki....I mean Spike. Really."

"Where did this rain come from?"

"It happens every once in awhile. We just get a blinding storm out of nowhere in very odd spots, like a specific radius it has. Could be an hour before it goes away, could be more."

"That's insane."

"But really, thank you. If you hadn't been here. I'd probably be dead."

"Glad I could help Wave."

Wave attempted to stand up but limped as a result. "Ah...ow."

"Hey your leg, you're hurt."

"I noticed."

"Well I can't just leave you to limp back to your house."

"What house?"

"Apartment?"

"What Apartment?"

"A friend's house?" She shook her head. "Well where do you sleep?"

"I....haven't for a couple of days. We all slept on an airship."

"That Jet really needs to get some sense knocked into him."

"You said it."

"Well....again, I might be jumping the gun here but I could always see if you can stay at my friend's place."

"And they are?"

"Lindsey and Korbin. Some pretty cool EX riders I met at emerald park."

"Lindsey and Korbin? They're not a monkey and cat, are they?"

"Yea why?"

She groaned in frustration. "We're not on the....best of terms."

"Well it's them or we just sit here until it ends."

"F-fine, just get my board would ya? It's behind you."

Spike picked the board up and place it under his arm as he hopped on his. "Alright get on and hold on tight."

"Yea I know." she said as she wrapped her arms around Spike. "Ready." Spike for the first time put his glasses on and began to slowly take off through the trees. Eventually they reached the highway again and made their way in the direction of the house. As Spike focused on the road ahead of him, Wave looked up at him, a slight blush coming to her face. So nice...so cute...Wait no! He's only being a gentlemen, don't let him in your head. Even with no cars on it, the highway was long and treacherous, an infinite loop unless you got off at an exit and theirs was coming up until something caught their attention. There was light in the sky, shining through the clouds. But it wasn't the moon, it had the feeling and look of a spotlight. "Spike, what is that?"

"I don't know, the rain makes it hard to see."

Suddenly the rain began to get harder and the light closer. At this point it was apparent what was causing this sudden storm. A giant airship made it's presence know as it lowered with the sound of futuristic engines. The entire underside of this airship was littered with holes to which the water was coming out of. "And....fire." A old man's voice rang out.

Suddenly that light began to spark and get brighter. "Spike watch it!" Wave yelled.

Spike quickly jerked his board to the right to which a giant buzz of lightning came down where they just were, the flash making Wave let go for a moment only to fall helplessly off the board. With haste, Spike grabbed her hand as fast as he could and pulled her up to which she latched her arms around him again."Are you ok?"

"Yea I'm fine, thanks."

"Who did that? That was giant freakin lightning bolt."

"Judging by the voice, it's obvious which moustache gloating moron that is."

That old man's voice suddenly sprang to life once again with a hearty laugh to start. "Hahahahahaha, I've gone and done it now. I've built the ultimate creation, and with it, I will capture the anomaly."

Spike curiously hummed. "Anomaly?"

The voice instantly responded. "You, silly dragon. I heard about your sudden appearance in our world. My bet is that you hold some kind of latent power that will allow me to take over the world."

"Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not some kind of secret weapon, I'm just a dragon."

"Well I won't know until I capture now will I? Bring us to ground level next to the highway and prepare a port barrage!"

"Spike!" Wave nervously called out as the Ship began to drop down beside them, dozens of guns preparing to fire upon them..

"Ready...aim....and...fire!"

"Too slow!" Another voice rang out as Spike and Wave were suddenly skyrocketed into dodging each and every bullet coming from the guns. Suddenly they were released from their intense speed to which they proceeded to look for the savior. Sure enough, to their right was the savior himself running like a speed demon to keep up. "What are ya doing attacking innocent people egghead. Seems to me like you're getting desperate."

All three of them called out a the same time, "Sonic?!"

"Oh hey Spike, long time no see. Not getting in any trouble are ya?"

Spike scratched his head. "No, not really."

"What's up Wave?"

She looked away quickly and coughed. "Nothing."

"Still not crazy about us huh? Oh well?"

"Sonic! What are you doing here?!" Eggman angrily asked.

"I had a hunch egghead. Actually Tails had a hunch really. We both did, point is we both knew you would try something if you knew about Spike here."

"And your hunch was correct it seems. Very well, I'll have to crush you before I can get my hands on such a unique specimen.'"

"Spike go wherever you need to go, I'll handle this."

Spike nodded and began to trail off near the nearest exit until the sound of something got their attention, a missile being launched from another cannon near the front of the ship. Sonic with his quick thinking instantly jumped up. "Oh no you don't!"

Without a moment to spare, he kicked the tip of the missile, flipping it over, and sending it now barreling at Eggman's giant airship. Before Spike could see what happened, they descended down a ramp and all that was heard was an explosion.

Just skip to 1:30 to hear what I wanted to be in this scene.

Spike decided to find an alternate route to use, although it took an extra hour. Finally they were on the long road that lead down to Korbin and Lindsey's abode. Instantly they began laughing hysterically. "Oh man, does that happen often?"

"Hehe, If you lived here as long as we have then it's pretty much an everyday thing. Good thing we got that newbie of a Blue Blur around......Hey Spike..." Wave quietly said.

"Yea?"

"Thank you...for saving me....again."

"Hey no problem. At this point, I might as well stick by you every second since everything seems to be going wrong around us."

"R-really?"

"Yep. From now on, I won't let any harm come to you." he said with a thumbs up before returning his attention to the road.

Wave's blush intensified as she became a mess, her shallow breaths only made it harder for her to accept what just happened. Suddenly she kissed him on the cheek, his eyes widening at the feeling. "Just...forget that ever happened ok?"

He became stiff as a board and his emotions were on all types of levels. He felt his cheek as if he had been kissed by an angel and looked back at Wave, obviously trying to avoid his gaze but smiling nonetheless. They arrived moments later, hopping off as they got a look at the house. The lights were on, which meant that the two ladies were awake. "I guess they figured out I left."

"Oh boy." Wave said un-enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, we just met but I got enough reason to have your back on this."

She smiled before quickly shaking her head. "Stop making me all sappy kid.....but thanks."

"Alright, time to introduce the team to the new EX tuner."

A Dragon's Sorrow: Let me Kill a kill

Rev up that Gear: Enemy or Respect

"Spike!" Both of them yelled. "Where the hell have you been?!"

Spike jumped back a little, shocked and scared to death as he walked through the front door. "Why are you guys so serious all of a sudden?"

Suddenly they stepped forward and grabbed Spike by his shoulders. "You leave in the middle of the night and think we wouldn't notice huh?"

"I still fail to see the issue with this. You guys barely know me and you're acting like we're dating or something." Both of them backed up immediately and nervously coughed, casting their glances elsewhere in shame. "Look, if you really want to know, I was just thinking about something personal."

"I can accept that. I'm terribly sorry Spike." Lindsey said still avoiding Spike's gaze.

"Right...sorry." Korbin added.

Spike sighed. "What am I, some kind of drama magnet. Anyway, it's my turn."

"Your turn for what?" Korbin confusingly asked.

"Well....my turn to do a little apologizing. See, while I was out, I met someone."

"Like a girl?"

"Well yes...just not for the reason you might think?"

Korbin suddenly was in Spike's face, eyes as wide as saucers and pupils focused directly on his."We need details Spike....tell us....tell us now."

Spike placed his finger on her forehead and slowly pushed her away. "How about you back up just a little...little more...there ya go. Now look, I was going through some things and so was she. We got to talking and turns out, she's pretty nice, not to mention a top notch EX-tuner."

"Well don't leave in the dark. Tell us her name stud."

"Well...it's....it's kinda.....well you're gonna see just....don't be mad." Spike then motioned behind him as another figure appeared in the doorway. "Guys, I want you to meet..."

"Wave?!" They both responded.

"Hey...girls." she responded.

"Spike?" Korbin asked with anger in her soul.

"Yea?"

"What is she doing here?"

"Well...like I said, we met, we talked, and now we're working together."

"Oh no no, there is no way she is stepping foot in here."

"What's the issue Korbin?"

Korbin quickly growled before taking a pouncing stance. "The issue is is that this jerk is apart of the Babylonian rogues. She's mean and she called me a putty cat."

"A what?"

"A putty cat."

"What is a putty cat? Actually nevermind, I don't want to know."

Wave sighed then pushed Spike out of the way a little. "Look...I want to apologize for all of that even though Korbin is a big house cat."

"You looking for a fight you big cockatoo?!" Korbin quickly responded.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm trying to say sorry."

"You're doing one hell of a job at it."

"Look if you let me explain instead of shooting up at every statement I make, we would be ok!"

"Then why don't you apologize like a normal person instead adding these sarcastic comments in!"

"It's just the way I am, you think this is easy!"

"I do! I wouldn't have accepted it anyway. Anybody who hangs around Jet is not worth my time!"

"Let me explain and maybe you'll figure out why I'm here!"

"....No."

"What?"

"I said no."

Korbin then sat on the ground, legs crossed, eyes closed, and turned her attention away from Wave. "What the? Don't you ignore m..." Wave was suddenly cut off my Korbin meowing in her face. Still Wave pursued only to be interrupted by Korbin's obnoxious attitude again and again. "You think this is some kind of joke?!"

"When the big cockatoo is involved, it might as well be."

Wave's face was that pure anger. If it weren't for physics, steams would be spewing out her. "I swear you're just a little putty cat."

Korbin's then shot open as the words entered her ears. Slowly but angrily, she got up and now the two were face to face. "Call me that again?"

"Oh you think I won't. You...are...a baby, a kitty, a little....putty cat."

Their eyes met, the spark noticeably visible between them.

"Lindsey dear...call an ambulance...because this woman is going to need it!" she screamed as she tackled Wave to the ground. Within seconds they were rolling around ferociously wrestling. The sounds of the entire event echoed through the house and out of it as the door was still open. As Spike attempted to make his way around the disagreement, they both stood up ready to continue fighting. Unfortunately Spike was stuck in the middle of them both. Wave proceeded to remove a wrench from thin air and swing it up high. Spike ducked only to see Korbin's claws coming directly at him. Quickly he jumped only to see the wrench coming at him again. Like an acrobat, he was forced dodge wrench after claw again and again, contorting his body in different ways and positions to avoid the danger. "Lind..woah...sey...do...something...oh...crap...geez..."

"Give me a sec to think."

"I'm...getting...tired...don't have....alot of time..."

Lindsey stood as Spike continued to dodge, watching his movements closely. She then whipped her tail into the maelstrom allowing Spike to grab on. She quickly pulled him out and watched as the two continued to clash. "You ok Spike?"

"Fine...fine...so what happened between you guys that made this happen?"

"Well..." Before Lindsey could speak, Wave's wrench rocketed into Spike's head sending him to the ground. "Oh no, Spike?..Spike?" Lindsey looked back to the two fighting and sighed. "That's it." She took a step and jumped right into the middle of their scuffle. With acrobatic success, she proceeded to grab their hands mid punch and subdue them, performing a few complicated moves to flip Wave to the ground and Korbin into the air where she landed on the bed. "You two done?"

"Ow Lin Lin...what was that for?" Korbin asked as she rubbed her arm. Lindsey pointed to Spike unconsious on the ground making both Korbin and Wave gasp. "I think we got a little carried away."

Spike awoke 2 hours later to silence. With his vision heavily blurred, he struggled to figure out what happened. Moments later he was finally able to see that the fight had solved nothing. Wave was on one side room silent while Korbin was on another. "Oh Celestia my head."

"Spike!" The both of them screamed before rushing to his aid. "Are you ok? Why do you care? You're the reason he was knocked out in the first place."

"Can you two maybe keep it down?" Spike politely asked.

To no one's surprise, they ignored Spike's request and continued to fight amongst themselves. "Say you're sorry! No you say it! I shouldn't have to say it, I'm not the one who knocked him out."

"Wave, Korbin, any chance we could tone it down a bit, my head really hurts."

Once again his request fell against deaf ears. "Spike's my friend! No he's not he's mine. He likes me more, just because you had one good moment with him doesn't mean he's more of a friend to you than he is to me!"

"Would you two shut up!" Spike yelled at the top of his lungs. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide and mouth agape. "I swear I've never seen a more immature bunch of animals, I mean I have, but you two are something else! You would think that me getting dropped to the floor would do something for you but no, you two seem intent on continuing this!"

"Oh man, we're really sorry Spike. I mean I am more than her."

"That's it." Spike slowly rose to his feet and proceeded to sit on the center of the bed, legs crossed and nostrils seething with smokey rage. He then pointed to two spots directly in front of him. "Sit."

"But Spike?"

"I said sit. And for the love of all that's holy, stop talking in sync." They both took their seats, crossing their legs, and facing him. "No no no, facing each other." A unpleasant sigh left both their mouths as they turned to face each other. "Now, I'm gonna ask someone here to tell me what happened and then we're gonna resolve this entire thing, am I understood?" They both looked at him with that annoyed expression. "I said," he said as his eyes began to glow a luminescent green. "Is...that...understood?" Both of them became stiff a boards as they nodded. "Good, now please, someone tell me what happened?"

"I'll do the honors I guess." Wave quickly responded. "I am the one apologizing here."

Korbin growled at this act of apology. "Why should she get to the story first, she'll just lie her way out of this." Spike shot his glowing annoyance at her and growled. "Um....go right ahead Wave....I'll just shut up."

"Thank you. See, I've been apart of the Babylon Rouges for a long time. We were a team no matter what, through every race and job, even though they got on my nerves like little babies. So of course, when Jet suggest something that sounds a bit crazy, I'm skeptical at first. When he asked me to sabotage Sonic's board during the first world Grand Prix, I was against the idea partially. But I liked Jet honestly and thought, maybe he'll acknowledge me if I do this. It was the same thing for our race too. Team Babylon and Team Flora."

Spike turned his head towards Lindsey in confusion. "Hey don't look at me, we were going through a weird naming process."

"As I was saying, this particular Grand Prix ended up with our two teams as the finalist racing through what we like to call Metal City. 2 laps was the goal and in order to win, the majority of the team had to hit that finish line first. It was around the end of the second lap that something happened that I'll always regret. Jet and Storm were ahead of the group while I had gotten stuck in the back of the pack. If I didn't do something, we would lose. Spike...the reason they were looking for a third member in the first place was because of me. His name was Kindro the flame, a dragon like you. He was so unique with the reflexes and speed of what was expected riding a board containing his fiery passion, even to go as far as to to say it was glowing with fire. I don't know whether it was jealousy or Jet getting inside my head but.....I decided to push him." Her face began to show that of sorrow and regret, a single tear trickling down her cheek. "Spike....there was this car.....it came out nowhere....and he couldn't dodge in time...I tried to visit him...tried to make up for what I did...but I felt as though I was being held back by Jet...Still, there is no excuse for what I did...I made the choice to push him... and no amount of regret can fix that."

Korbin became increasingly agitated. Her eyes drooped downward and her paw reached out to rest on wave's trembling knee. "It was because of you that he quit...It was because of you that he wanted nothing to do with us..."

"I don't know what to do Korbin...I don't know how to make up for it....I'm sorry..."

Tears began to streak from her eyes as well before her claws came into sight and angrily took hold of Wave's shirt. With no hesitation, she pulled her in close and angrily stared into her soul, the fire emitting from her eyes as if she were a demon herself. "You have some nerve you jerk, you tore us apart!"

"I didn't mean to...I didn't see the car..."

"You knew exactly what you were doing you crazy bird! Because of you, he stopped racing! And because he stopped racing, he stopped caring! It's your fault we stopped talking, your fault we stopped everything...."

"I-I didn't know....I swear...I just want make up for it..."

"I loved him!....How do you make up for that?"

"I...don't know..." Korbin finally let go of her shirt allowing Wave to effortlessly drop into her lap. "I can't ever make up for something like that...I know that...But it was at least worth trying. I was messed up...years and years under the wing of that jerk left me scarred and hateful. I hated myself and everything about me...even my crush on that green bird going squawk squawk all the time. I remember what happened...every second of it eating me from the inside-out. After what seemed like an eternity, it's the reason I left the rouges. I just couldn't take myself anymore, what I had become. I didn't want to hurt people anymore...I didn't want to cheat my way to the top anymore...I just wanted an honest life and being with them wasn't going to make that happen...There is no escaping my consequences but just know....I truly am sorry......I'm leaving." Wave said as she hopped off the bed.

"W-wait..." Korbin uttered in weakened tone before taking hold of her hand. "I didn't know any of that...I realized he was a jerk but not that much...still...you took my dwagon away from me...I can't forgive you for that. But I can forgive you for being who you were. I've always had the feeling...deep inside me...that perhaps you were nicer underneath all of it." She then lifted her head to her with a smile. "I'm glad I was right." Korbin hopped off the bed as well and embraced Wave into a hug. "I forgive you Wave. I'm sure Lindsey does too, but I can never forgive you unless he forgives you as well."

"I know, I promise to make it up to him too. Oh man, look at you runts, making me all sappy and sad."

"Hehe, stop with tough girl thing. You know you wanted to get all emotional in the first place."

"N-no I didn't."

"Then why are we hugging?"

"I don't know...I was dragged into it. Just..don't tell anyone this happened cool?"

"Hehe.......no."

/nekkosu/night-theme-chao-resort-island

Spike sighed before falling back on bed. "My work here is done."

"Indeed it is." Lindsey stated. "Didn't know you had that in you Spike?"

"Well after getting hit in the head, who wouldn't be a little mad?"

Lindsey sat herself right next to Spike and laid down alongside his left side. "Really Spike, thanks for getting them to talk."

"I have to deal with these issues back home all the time, it was no problem."

"No really Spike." Korbin quickly chimed in before taking at seat next to his feet. "If it weren't for you, this house would be in pieces, maybe the entire neighborhood as well."

"Really, it's no big deal. I'm just really good at dealing with friendship problems."

Just then Wave took the space laying down on the other side of him. "I barely know you kid, and you've done way more than anyone's done in years compared. You helped me get over Jet, you saved my life, you even got me to fess up to my past, something I would have never had the courage to do. Are you some kind of wizard of good deeds or something?"

"No...nothing like that, I'm just really good at friendship problems. I live with Princess of Friendship after all."

"Well how can we repay you?" Lindsey asked.

"Repay me?"

"Yea, you've helped everyone out so much, it's only right that we repay for your generosity."

"Um...trust me, you guys being happy is payment enough."

"So you're saying you don't want anything....at all?" Korbin added. "Not even...a little bit of...you know...us?"

"W-what do you mean...y-you?"

"Maybe it was a blessing kid, that you show up and help me out like that. I'm down to get dirty if you are."

Spike blood pressure shot up like a rocket as the three girls closed in on him, bedroom eyes intensified and locked on to target. Quickly, he hopped off the bed and out of the pile, landing his feet on solid ground with sweat pouring from his scales. "Look, we've only known each other for what, a few days? I think we're moving way too fast."

"Aw man, and I was really hoping to see what you were made of." Korbin said as she flopped down onto the bed.

"I appreciate the want ladies but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment."

"Oh well, was fun while it lasted." Wave added. "I still have my heart set on Tails anyway."

Lindsey yawned before stretching. "Well ladies, it's already late and we've yet to truly sleep. So if you would happily remove yourselves from my bed, that would be nice."

"But where is Wave gonna sleep Lin Lin?"

"I suppose she can sleep with you. You did make up after all."

Both Wave and Korbin looked at each other before shaking their heads. "I don't think so. We just made up, importance on the word, 'just'. I think it would be a tiny bit awkward."

Spike thought about for a moment then smiled. "You could take the couch. Not as comfy as a bed but it's something."

Wave cracked a smile before patting him on the head. "Thanks kid. Wait, where are you gonna sleep?"

"On the floor I guess."

"Suit yourself."

Korbin handed her the spare cover and pillow that Spike refused earlier and they took their positions to sleep. Having been up until about 2 in the morning, the gang found themselves dead asleep until about 11 o'clock. Korbin was the first to wake up, doing some common stretches alongside some unusual ones only a cat could perform. She then roused everyone from their slumber with a loud meow. Lindsey groaned before rolling over. "I thought I told not to do that anymore?"

"Sorry Lin Lin. But you know what today is right?"

"I'm not forgetful like you are."

"I'm not forgetful at all. I remembered today."

"Did you remember grandpa's birthday was yesterday?"

"Um...."

"Did you even get him present dear?"

"Um...nevermind."

"Good old Korbin. Everybody up, time to train."

Spike got up and stretched ever so slightly letting out a little flame as he yawned. "We're doing what now?"

"Training."

"Oh yea, the Grand Prix. Can I get like 10 more minutes?"

"No you can not get 10 more hours to sleep."

"I said minutes not hours."

"I know what you meant."

"Darn. Someone gonna get wave up?"

"Why don't you?"

"I'm afraid of getting hit with that wrench of her's.

"No need." Wave said into her pillow. "I'm up already."

Lindsey smiled and began to put on her boots. "Good, now let's tidy up and get moving shall we?"

After the usual hygiene, at least for Mobians, they all proceeded out of the house and into the streets, EX Gear under their feet. Wave held her stomach in hunger. "I hope breakfast in on the agenda."

"Oh you bet!" Korbin screamed. "I know the perfect place." An hour later, they exited the door of that "perfect" restaurant, everyone's faces confused. "Oh man, that was great."

"When I said breakfast, I meant breakfast, as in pancakes or some nice bacon and eggs."

"That was breakfast wasn't it?"

Lindsey sighed. "That was a sushi place Korbin."

"Hey sushi is good."

"For maybe lunch or dinner, this is breakfast though. We're not like you, we don't eat fish every minute of every day."

"Oh...sorry."

Spike tapped his belly watching it jiggle a little. "Well you did manage to fill us up so I guess it's not all bad."

"Yay, I knew Spike would like it."

"Anyway, where to now?"

Lindsey pointed to the highway just a ways down. "We're heading down east to the Dolphin Resort."

"A dolphin Resort? What's a dolphin exactly?"

"It's like a friendlier version of a shark."

"A shark?"

"Have you...ever actually seen a shark or anything?" Spike shook his head. "Then you will see when we get there I suppose."

"Big problem though?" Wave added. "I left all my tools on the ship and I can't tune your gear without them."

Spike quietly cheered as the thought crossed his mind. "I know, we can ask Rotor for some help."

"Rotor? That freedom fighter who's friends with Sonic?"

"Yep."

"Yay, more apologizing."

"Don't worry, he seems like a forgiving person. Let's go."

After what seemed like an eternity of explanation, The gang of four made their way up the highway and around to the eastern side of the city. "I never knew those guys were so chill. It was nice of that Rotor guy to lend me his old tool set not to mention a vintage EX Gear tool set. I'm gonna perfect our gear with this."

"I told you they're not as bad as you think."

"We're near the exit everyone, turn here." Lindsey called out.

Upon doing so, they slowly made their way into a tunnel which conveniently led underwater and back up again. When they emerged they were greeted a sea of wonder. The path was surrounded on both sides by a endless void of water while arcs of it shot over the path defying gravity. A giant dome of water sat in the distance while dolphins happily swam beside and under the path. Inside the nearby building were fountains going all the way down to a large ramp with a waterfall covering the edge. "Wow..." Spike uttered. "It's like a giant water park."

"It's actually Dolphin Resort." Korbin jokingly added. "Just thought I'd let you know, you know?"

"I know what it's called Korbin, I'm just saying, there's alot of water here." Spike walked to edge of the path and instantly, a dolphin broke the surface. "So this...is a dolphin?"

"Yep yep, go ahead pet him."

"Pet the dolphin?"

"Yea, they're super friendly anyway, they won't mind."

Spike placed his hand atop the dolphin's head and and rubbed gently. "Wow, it's smooth, kinda rubbery."

Lindsey took her place next to Spike placing her hand atop the dolphin's head as well. "They need less friction to move through the water thoroughly and so, rubbery skin."

"Kinda like scales, just for water."

"You can put it that way if you want to. Anyway, we should get started. We'll start off in the building over there."

"Right, see ya later little guy."

"Alright everyone, I'm sure you know the basics and what not but Spike here needs a little work. We only have a couple of days until the Grand Prix kicks off so let's get started. We're gonna start by explaining a few fundamentals to you Spike. While we're doing that, Wave can you work your magic?"

"Like no Mobian's ever seen before."

They all handed her their boards and watched as she began to pull out tool after tool. Korbin and Lindsey pulled Spike aside and started their lesson. "Now Spike," Lindsey began. "Just so you get this, we're gonna start from scratch. First things first, The race begins when you the timer begin to tick down. Ten seconds is what you get before you need to be off that starting line and off into the course. The trick to this is to mentally count those seconds off in your head once the beeping starts. Once you reach 1 second, kick off so that you meet the starting the moment the electric field drops. This will net you the best spot to gain the lead initially got it?"

"Yea, listen to the beeps and count down, kick off at just the last second for the best initial start."

Oh oh, can I do the next one?" Korbin interrupted. Lindsey nodded. "Yay, so next up is items. Items are you secondary advantage in a race. They may be different this year so it's best you know the types of items. Leader items are meant to slow down the competition behind you making sure you stay in first place. I think last time it was a cute little squiddy or something that shot ink behind you. Anyway, next are follower items which help you slow the competition ahead of you. One time it was giant ice ball that rolled everyone up, another time it was horde of giant bees."

"No it wasn't Korbin." Lindsey quickly corrected. "That was for an entirely different gimmick, racing transformed or something like that."

"Oh yea, sorry. Any way last are general items. These include your standard things in a race, like the those shiny little rings or air for you board."

"Which bring us to last point of the lesson, your gear and HUD." Lindsey continued. "I'm sure Rotor explained this to you in you great detail, that is his style, so hopefully I don't have to explain to you how gear changes work right?" Spike smiled nervously. "I figured. Nicole can you bring up an example of a HUD on his wrist pad or something."

"Nice to see you guys are as happy as rainbows after last night's scuffle."

"This dragon is quite the miracle worker."

"Indeed he is, bringing the example up now."

"Thank you Nicole. Now, you can't actually see these things until the race is set to begin but when using gear, you have to keep a eye on three things. Your air gauge, your ring count, and your gear change slots. Air is the most basic thing of racing you have to keep an eye on. Grabbing items containing air, successfully landing tricks, and heading through your designated gear change paths are the only ways to grab air. Although there are air stations that you can use, these will significantly slow you down if you're not careful. Next, your ring gauge shows how many rings you have collected, up to 50 for some gear, 100 for others, even 200 for the best. When you have collected enough of these rings, say 30 out 100, one of your gear slots on the bottom will light up if that is what the gear change needs. Every board is different however, some have two alternate gear changes, some may have only one, others may not have one at all.

"Mine even had 4 once." Korbin added.

"Thank you for that input Korbin. Either way, any gear that does have a gear change will require you collect rings up to a certain amount and once you do, you'll not only be rewarded a gear change option but also a level up to the board, making it's attributes shoot up in specific stats."

"I think I remember the rest." Spike chimed in. "The gear change depends on the board right? Speed, Flight, and Power. Speed is the fastest and can grind on rails. Flight uses the ability of flight to soar above the competition and power smashes their way through obstacles to reach denied shortcuts."

"Oh, apparently you do know your stuff. Don't forget that some special boards do exist that allow two attributes to one gear. Now that we've covered everything, you ready to try it out?"

"Yea, I think I could go a round."

"And lucky you, I just finished tuning all of our gear." Wave said as she handed the three back their boards. "Oh and Korbin, I went ahead and tweaked the sensitivity on your board a little. It felt a little slow."

"Thanksies, I always thought it was a tiny bit off. Wait, you didn't mess with my board did you?"

"I don't do that anymore remember."

"Just being cautious is all."

Lindsey placed her board under her feet as did everyone else. "Alright Korbin, release the drone. Don't forget to do your best everyone."

Korbin took the drone in hand and let it fly as it set up a good 2 to 3 yards away. The electric current popped in and the countdown began. Spike closed his eyes and began to count. Beep...10....beep...9...beep...8. Spike thought as he remembered the advice. As the ticks neared 1, he opened his eyes and placed his foot upon the ground. beep...3...beep...2....beep...1! Spike let loose a hammer of power as he kicked off alongside his three teammates. A higher pitched beep started the race and the dropped the electric field the moment everyone passed through it. "Yes, I did it."

Wave patted him on the back before pulling ahead of him. "Don't get a big head yet kid, you still got an entire race to win."

"R-right." The building began descend to a downward hill with a large ramp at the end of it. Spike felt his body tense once more but shook the feeling immediately. Stay calm and focus, only then will you succeed. He bent his knees and prepared, watching as everyone else jumped off the ramp with ease. "I can do this." He neared the ramp and just as caught the edge of it, jumped with all his might, soaring into the sky like an eagle. As he did so, he looked down to see Korbin make circular motions with her finger. "I think they want me to do a trick but...."

He landed on the ground with ease and caught up with the team. Korbin quickly joined him. "What happened up there Spike? You know the enemy of riding is stress and fear. Stay calm and take the risk, else you'll never gain air. Another building is up ahead, you can practice you flying there. Make sure to stay in the middle." she said as she pulled ahead.

Spike took in a deep breath before continuing to catch up. As he neared the building, he saw three signs inside floating above the race. The right one was red with the word power, the left was blue with the word speed, and the middle, yellow with the word fly. As he made his way down this path, a ramp differently colored from the anything else rose to alert him to a new path above the competition. Lindsey took the left where speed was her specialty, showing off as she grinded the the rail made completely of water while Korbin took the right, where she effortlessly smashed through the tables and obstacles in her way. Spike looked forward as he rode the ramp up soaring into the air. He passed through the first ring with ease, then the second, then the third, only to see that it was a really straight shot to the end of the building where he was greeted by another open area before a tunnel. "Nice use of the gear path Spike!" Lindsey yelled out.

As they passed into this tunnel, a grind rail sat directly right of them. Easy pickings for Lindsey but Spike was forced to ignore it. He neared the end of the tunnel where large doors began to open on their approach. Spike took the words into mind and readied his jump once again. As everyone aired off the ramp, they got a bird's eye view of the area up ahead, and Spike didn't like what he saw. Another large ramp sat at the end of the long straight path but that jump would lead to something else. The giant dome, which actually wasn't a dome at all. Instead it was like a gigantic water fountain spun up into a small cylinder like twister, and that jump would have them plunging right into the center of it. "Uh..guys...Are we seriously going into that thing?"

"Don't worry about it Spike. Once you're inside just start swimming, the current will take you from there."

"Are you sure? I mean..."

Spike was then greeted with Korbin patting him on the back. "Remember what I said earlier, don't be afraid to take the risk. Make your mind all calm like and let loose."

They all spanned out as they neared the ramp, Spike taking every moment to adjust his stance. He couldn't help but let out a huge sigh as he bent his legs and aired of the ramp. Down below lay the Spiral of water, and within seconds he was plunging within. For a moment he stopped, his eyes closed, letting the feeling of being underwater sink in. Yet, he couldn't easily let it sink in, as he was slowly moving along a designated path. He opened one eye, then the other, and placed his hand among the water. There was indeed a current carrying him throughout the underwater area, a large tank like room connected to another tank like room of the same design by a large tunnel. Spike took a moment to grab his board floating alongside him and began to paddle. With the help of the current, he rocketed through to the other area where a light flooded in from an smaller opening above. Quickly, he took off towards it and emerged into the area they had originally started from. Unfortunately, he was unable to return his board to his feet in time and ended up crashing into the ground, flipping over a few times and sliding to a halt. "Ow..."

/edwardthecat/deserved-rest-sonic-the-hedgehog-special-stage

"Sorry to break it kid," Wave began. "But if you wanna survive in this race, you're gonna have to pick up the pace a little."

"Sorry, I got a bit distracted when I hit the water."

"Don't let it," Lindsey added. "The entire thing about this whole racing scene is you have little time to think sometimes."

"And," Korbin continued. "Some things are gonna come as a surprise. Staying in first place is all about recognizing the surprise before it happens, and adapting to it. Like I said earlier, staying calm and taking the risk. Kinda funny, the first time anyone hits the water here, they immediately start swimming. No shock, no surprise, just racing."

Spike thought about that for a moment. No surprise, no reaction, just racing. "I think I got it now.....let's go again." he said with a smirk.

"That's the spirit my little dwagon."

"Your what?"

"Um...nevermind, let's just restart the race already."

Spike couldn't help but chuckle as Korbin nervously reset the robot. The electric line appeared once more and the race begun anew. After what seemed like hours of training, they all came to halt at the starting line, Spike still sitting bummed at the back of the group. "Darn, thought I had it that time."

Lindsey sighed and helped him off the ground as he had failed to return the board to his feet once again. "Your reaction time is off. Seems we need to work on that. You have the basics down so tricks and quick thinking are gonna be your best friend the next couple of days. Either way, good work out there."

"You know you turn into a entirely different person when you're training, almost like a drill instructor."

"I've tried the nice thing, it didn't work. So I put a little force in my training attitude to really get my point across. But don't me wrong, I'm actually really nice."

"You guys coming." Korbin asked.

"Yea..." Spike tried to utter out until Lindsey's hand covered his mouth.

"We'll catch up soon. I just want to coach Spike a little more."

Korbin's eyes turned to curiosity as she walked away. "You're not gonna try and make a move on him are you Lin Lin?"

"N-no way, he just requires a little more direction is all."

She giggled before taking off with Wave in tow. Spike removed her hand and nervously rubbed the back of his head. "So...what's the the reason for making me stay behind exactly?"

Suddenly Lindsey took hold of Spike and gently pushed him to a wall. Her eyes were to the ground and her hand lay upon his chest. "You remind me of him...so much."

"W-who exactly?" She then removed herself and leaned against the wall only inches away from Spike. "Kindro was the same way when he started racing. Always falling and getting back up like nothing happened."

"So who was this Kindro the flame you guys praise so much."

"Well...Kindro, much like yourself, was fairly new to the scene of EX Gear. He came from a place where it is forbidden to ride such things, where the tradition had set its stone. When he showed up in the city, he was so lost." she said with a giggle. "He was running around like a dog without a leash trying to find his way around only to be lost evermore. What he did however, is admire what he had been missing in his life, EX Gear. He was amazed at the wonders of anti gravity technology despite his particular culture of dragons following a strict tradition of following earth's plan, gravity.....Did you ever wonder why?"

"I'm lost."

"When you first let loose your latent abilities, I commented about your eyes remember?"

"Yea, now I do."

"You see, when Kindro first came to us, he was simply looking for directions. Korbin couldn't help but blush around him and she insisted we show him the way personally. We became friends and he became interested in riding. He wasn't a very good rider at first but persisted in his attempts to perfect his technique, just like you. In a matter of weeks, he had gotten better than pretty much anything I could teach him, even Korbin couldn't keep up. His natural abilities as a dragon put him ahead of the game, usually in the form of his eyes physically and instinctively changing shape. That's why I commented about your eyes the first time you raced us. You remind me of him and overall good nature. Korbin is a bit of different story though."

"I remember that moment all too well. She loved him right?"

"Loved is an understatement. Around the time of our first Grand Prix as a team, Korbin was having a bit of trouble getting a particular trick down. In her desperation to perfect the move, she asked Kindro to help her. She already had a huge crush on the guy, this was just icing on the cake. They trained and trained and eventually, Korbin couldn't hold back her feelings. She ended up kissing him while they were in the middle of training and they crashed into the street. I think his exact words were, 'She chose a completely unreasonable time and it hurt...but it was sweet.' After they both got up, Korbin couldn't have been more embarrassed, that was until he kissed her back. Then you know, relationship. After Wave put him out of commission, he broke up with Korbin. We could never determine the reason but boy was she heartbroken. I guess that's why she's taken such a interest in you. You are easily the closest reminder to him that we've seen, save for the colors."

"Guess that makes me special huh? Anyway, that's definitely an interesting way to get together. Pinkie's probably the only crazy enough to do something like that."

"The sugar crazy pony right?"

"Yep."

"Your world sounds very interesting. I'd like to hear more stories about it in the future."

"I got a ton of them, trust me. Should we be getting back?"

"W-wait...I want to ask you something?"'

"Sure, what's up?"

"What do you...think of me...as a person?"

"Well, you're super kind and sweet. You're probably the most considerate of people's feelings in the group and that really makes you stand out."

"R-really."

"You're also a little sassy and I honestly love it. Like when you told off Jet the Hawk." Lindsey let her expression do all the talking, her blush, her inability to use words properly. "You're also really down to earth, not crazy energetic you know but don't tell Korbin I said that."

Without so much as a warning, Lindsey lunged forward wrapping her arms Spike and embracing his lips with her own. For a moment he was shocked, scared even of what this could mean, but he closed his eyes and accepted it. The moment he did however, she jerked back from him, frantic and confused. "I'm sorry...I don't know why...I..." Quickly, she smashed her board under her and took off back toward the highway.

"What the hell was that?"

Author's Note

Wow, talk about a surprise from the monkey, am I right? No this does not mean relationship, not every kiss means relationship. Seemingly rushed some parts do seem but really it was me trying to move through some filler points that would've taken like two more chapter to get through.