Massive Gear

(Twilight Prince)

NOTE from Cubed Cinder: Linked below are three images of Blitz the Eagle as made in the Sonic Forces Avatar Creator by wdearth007:
Center
Facing left
Facing right

Taking a sip of his soda, Sonic was lazily lounging in his hammock taking a much-needed break. Three months ago, him and his team of Tails and Knuckles outdid Jet and the rest of the Bablyon Rouges in the EX World Grand Prix and thwarted Dr. Eggman's scheme to take the treasure of Babylon. Now, with some time off, he and his team were taking some much-needed R&R, and Amy Rose had tagged along like she always does. She still didn't want to leave Sonic's side, despite the fact that Sonic would never marry her in a hundred years! Amy, who suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Wave the Swallow at Red Canyon in the Grand Prix, had been practicing on her Extreme Gear ever since, determined to get back at Wave for such a humiliating defeat, especially considering it was her FIRST race!

Sonic, on the other hand, was confident that if Jet or the rest of the Rouges came by to race them again, he could beat them blindfolded! That's why he was taking it easy on this warm spring day. Tails, as usual, was tinkering with his Extreme Gear, making sure it and the rest of the team's Extreme Gear stayed in tip-top shape should anyone want to race the Sonic Team again. Knuckles was busy hitting a concrete block, always determined to increase his strength and stay fit. Amy was over next to the grill, fixing hamburgers and hotdogs for the group. She was an amazing cook, despite the fact that she just started cooking only a few weeks ago. "Hey, guys!" said Amy calling to the group, "How do ya want your burgers?"

"I'll take mine rare!" said Knuckles, still punching the concrete block.

"Well-done is fine for me!" said Tails waving over to Amy.

"I'll take a chili dog, Amy. And don't forget to put extra chili on it!" said Sonic, still lying down in his hammock.

"Okay, guys! Thanks!" said Amy.

With that, Amy prepared the burgers and chili dog the way the group wanted. She enjoyed cooking for them, especially Sonic, who went crazy for her chili dogs. Soon, dinner was ready. "Come and get it!" yelled Amy to the group.

At the sound of those words, there was a WHOOSH in the air and before Amy could blink, there was Sonic sitting at the table and ready to eat his chili dog. A few moments later, Tails and Knuckles joined Sonic and Amy. They then all sat down and had thier meal. As everyone was eating, Amy spoke up. "So, Sonic...you like how I have improved with my Extreme Gear skills?" she asked her wanna-be-boyfriend.

"Well..." said Sonic as he gulped down a bite of his chili dog, "you certainly have improved. But you still need a little work."

"Glad to hear that, Sonickins!" said Amy with a smile on her face, her eyes dazzling in the light of the sun.

Sonic knew THAT look...she was trying to butter him up again and ask if he would marry her. Before she said anything else, Sonic spoke up: "Amy, we've been through this before! I don't wanna marry you, OK? I like you as a friend, but...well...marrying isn't my style."

Amy knew he was going to say that. "Awwwww...." she moaned, but inside she knew she wouldn't give up.

"Hehe...some things never change, huh Tails?" said Knuckles.

"Guess not!" said Tails, giving off a slight chuckle.

Soon the gang finished thier meal and Tails had volunteered to do the dishes so Amy could have a break. Amy thanked Tails and went to a lounge chair near the pool. The gang had been staying in a resort hotel for the past few days, catching thier breath and relaxing. Thanks to the large amount of Rings they acquired during the EX World Grand Prix, the team was living quite luxurious these days. Amy was about to fall asleep in her chair when she heard a weird sound. "Huh? What's that sound?" she wondered out loud.

Sonic had heard the sound too, and looked up in the sky to find that Omochao, an electronic Chao, was hovering over him about 3 feet from his face. "Huh? Omochao, what's up?" asked Sonic.

"Hi, Sonic!" said Omochao in an electronic voice. "I have a message for you and your team from Jet!"

"From Jet?!!" said the whole team at once. Everyone then scrambled in front of Omochao.

"Well, let's hear it then!" said Sonic, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Omochao brought up a holographic video screen and on it was Jet's face. It appeared to be Video Mail from him. Soon the video started playing:

"Long time no see, Sonic!" said Jet in his slightly sqwaking voice. "I lost to you last time, but now it's totally different! Me and the Babylon Rouges have toughened up, strengthened up, and sped up! I now challenge you and your team to another race! I will explain the conditions of our race tommorow in Metal City Square at noon sharp! Should you decline, we'll hunt you down and force you to race! Don't be late! Hehehe..."

With that, the message ended, and the video screen vanished. "Well, I've done my part. Good luck!" said Omochao as he turned and flew off into the distance.

Sonic had a broad smile on his face. "All right!" he shouted. "This'll be fun!"

"Do you think that Jet and his gang have gotten better?" asked Tails, a little concerned.

"No doubt that they have been practicing like we have..." added Knuckles.

"I understand guys, but I NEVER back down from a challenge! Let's go to Metal City tommorow and meet them!" said Sonic, very enthusiastic that he was getting to race Jet again.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" said Amy. Sonic looked over at her, that look again on her face. Sonic knew he couldn't argue with Amy on this matter, lest he suffer a few hits on the head with her Piko Piko Hammer...or worse.

"Okay, Amy, you can come along." said Sonic with a sigh. "Just don't cause any trouble, OK?"

"You worry too much, Sonic!" said Amy, giggling afterwards. "I'll be fine! I have you and the rest to protect me in case something happens, right?"

Sonic nodded in agreement. The sun was now setting, and the gang were all tired from thier relaxing day. So, they all went to thier rooms in the hotel, with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles sharing a room and Amy having her own, and went to sleep, all of them knowing that tommorow is going to be a busy day.

The next day, Sonic and his friends were up bright and early, preparing themselves to meet up with Jet and the rest of the Babylon Rouges in Metal City that day. Soon, with thier Extreme Gears in tow, they all set out for Metal City Square. Sonic could just run there, but then he'd leave his friends behind. So he and the others decided to take the subway instead. It was pretty quiet on the subway train, it being Thursday and all, so not many people were around. As they were riding the train, Tails then spoke up: "Sonic, are you sure about this? Jet and his gang are top-notch Extreme Gear specialists. They won't be beaten easily..."

"It's okay, little buddy!" said Sonic, sounding confident as ever. "We'll give them a race they won't soon forget!"

As Sonic finished saying that, the subway train had pulled into Metal City Station. The team got off and then walked out of the subway station. Metal City was hustling and bustling as ever, even more so than it was three months ago during the EX World Grand Prix. Thankfully, the sidewalks were still relatively clear of pedestrians. "Okay guys, let's ride!" said Sonic, all the while hopping on his Extreme Gear, the Blue Star II.

The rest of the team followed suit and they all sped down the sidewalk and towards Metal City Square. As they were speeding along, they were busy practicing a few moves, thanks to the construction ramps that were spread around. Sonic did an impressive 1080 degree right spin and landed it perfectly, while Knuckles performed two backflips and a front flip. Tails sailed into the air and did a front flip, backflip, then finally two left spins before touching down. Amy, who was determined as ever to impress Sonic, launched herself off the ramp and did two Methods and a Stale Mute before making a perfect landing on the ground. Sonic looked back and saw this and gave Amy a thumbs-up. Heh, she really has gotten better...nice work Amy! thought Sonic.

Soon, the team had arrived in Metal City Square, a few minutes before noon. Sonic was releived that he had made it in time and he and the gang patiently waited for Jet and the Rouges to show up. At noon sharp, Jet appeared on the scene, along with Wave and Storm, his teammates. Sonic saw them and said, "Okay, guys, let's go!"

Soon the two teams were looking face to face. It had been awhile since they saw each other, but instead of a look of revenge on his face, Jet actually had a look of respect. "Long time no see Sonic! Are you ready to race?" he said, extending his hand out for a handshake.

"You bet I am!" replied Sonic, shaking Jet's hand.

"So, what are the conditions for the race?" asked Tails.

Jet looked at Tails and gave a sneering smile. "That's easy." he said. "We're gonna have what is called an Extreme Sprint!"

"An Extreme Sprint?" asked Knuckles, confused. "What's that?"

Wave stepped up to the gang. "Allow me to explain..." she began. "An Extreme Sprint is just like it suggests. We choose a wide-open stretch of land and we select a checkpoint. When you reach the checkpoint, you turn around and head back to the starting line. Whoever crosses first wins the race for thier team. Simple, right?"

"Sounds easy enough..." replied Knuckles.

"One last thing, though..." said Wave, not quite finished with her explanation. "The same rules in Extreme Gear racing apply, so that means you can feel free to do whatever it takes to get ahead. That is, as long as you don't take the life of a fellow racer, of course."

"That's understandable." said Tails. "So where is the race taking place?"

"We've decided on the Sand Ruins Strip." said Storm in his gruff voice. "It's a couple of miles from the actual Sand Ruins, and is the perfect place for a sprint!"

"Cool! When do we start?" said Sonic, eager to get underway.

"The race starts tommorow at 1:00 at that location." said Wave. "We figured we'd be nice enough to give you guys a day to practice, seeing as how you'll end up losing anyways!"

This little comment made Sonic's Team a bit miffed, but they did thier best to hold it back. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" said Jet, just realizing something. "You guys are gonna need a fourth member on your team now!"

"Why's that?" asked Sonic.

"I'm why." said a mysterious voice. Sonic and his friends looked around, wondering where the voice was coming from. They soon got thier answer when a strange character appeared right in front of Sonic, literally looking face-to-face with him.

"WHOA!" cried Soinic as he fell down from being startled. As he looked back up, he could see that a blue, eagle-like character was standing over him, a look of calm anger in his face.

"Sonic," said Jet as he walked up to the mystery character, "I'd like to introduce you to the latest addition to the Babylon Rouges: Blitz the Eagle!"

Sonic got back on his feet and stared at Blitz. This guy didn't look especially strong, but he had an air of calm anger around him. It was almost as if he was ready to pounce on the team at any second. "Uhhh...nice to meet ya..." said Sonic, sounding a bit nervous.

"I don't do formalities." said Blitz, his voice sounding calm, yet somewhat violent. "I came here to race. That's all that matters."

"Blitz here is all about Extreme Gear racing." said Wave, coming up to the group. "He's won over 150 races in a row to this day, and never found an opponent worthy of him. He's perfect for our team don't you think?"

Blitz then leaned towards Sonic, looking at him straight in the eyes, giving off an icy stare, but not saying a word. Sonic felt nervous again, as Blitz just stared at him, looking as if he was staring right into Sonic's soul. After a few moments though, Blitz leaned back and said, "Hmmm...you just might be the worthy opponent I'm looking for. I can sense great courage and strength within you, but it takes more than that to be a great Extreme Gear racer. I'm looking forward to this race..."

"Well?" said Jet, stepping up, "Who's gonna be your fourth racer?"

Sonic, now recovered from his nervousness, thought for a moment. Who could we have for a fourth teammate? he thought to himself, I don't think Cream is qualified to take on something this dangerous, and Shadow is busy off doing something else he wouldn't mention. Knuckles definitely wouldn't agree with Rouge on the group, so who's it gonna be?

"I'll do it!!" said Amy.

Sonic snapped out of his train of thought, almost forgetting Amy was even there! Him and his team turned around and looked at her, all with surprised looks on thier faces. "What?" said Amy, a little confused. "I can do it! I've gotten a LOT better, remember?"

Wave couldn't help to laugh. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! What are you kidding me? Don't you remember that humiliating defeat I gave you in Red Canyon a few months ago? You completely lost that race!"

Amy was about to snap back at her for reminding her of that race, but just looked over at her and said, "I remember all too well, Wave. But I'm not kidding on the fact that I have gotten better. You can quote me on that!"

"Well, seems like we have no choice..." said Sonic, sighing in defeat. "She's our fourth teammate."

"Good. Now that that's settled, we'll leave you four to practice. Don't forget: 1:00 at Sand Ruin Strip tommorow! Don't be late!" said Jet, hopping on his Extreme Gear.

As Jet and the gang sped off, Sonic turned and looked at Amy. "Amy, what're you thinking? This could be dangerous! I don't wanna see you get hurt!" he said, sounding concerned.

"Sonic, it's okay!" said Amy, sounding confident, "I'll prove to them that I've gotten better! Besides, no one else we know is around right now, so I HAVE to be your fourth teammate!"

Sonic didn't argue with that, for he knew it was true. But, still...he was concerned for Amy. "Amy, I understand you want to prove yourself, but I just think it's too dangerous for you. Not because you're a girl, but because in comparison to us, you're kinda, well...inexperienced at Extreme Gear."

"INEXPERIENCED?!!" yelled Amy at the top of her lungs. She yelled so loud, her voice echoed throughout all of Metal City Square. "Whaddya mean by THAT?! I HAVE gotten better, Sonic!! You said so yourself the other day!! How can you even SAY that to me?! You're so MEAN!!! Hmph!"

With saying that, Amy stormed off in another direction. Sonic just stared at Amy walking off with a dumbfounded look on his face. Tails and Knuckles also had that look too. Sonic should've known better than to tick off Amy, and it showed. "Well," he finally said after a lengthy pause, "I guess we'll let her blow off some steam then. Since we've already admitted her into the team, there's no point in arguing about it anymore."

"Guess you're right..." said Tails with a sigh.

"Man, remind me to never get on her bad side..." said Knuckles under his breath.

Amy, still angry that Sonic would say such a thing to her, was still walking all around Metal City, tears of frustration streaming down her face. She had been walking around for what seemed like forever, although it had only been 20 minutes. How can Sonic SAY that to me?! she thought angrily to herself, He knows that I have been practicing on my Extreme Gear every day since the end of the Grand Prix! How in the hell can he say that I'm INEXPERIENCED?! UGGH! That hedgehog really burns me up sometimes!!

After finishing that thought, Amy sat down on a street bench that was nearby. She set her Extreme Gear, the Pink Rose, down flat next to her. Then, she covered her face and continued to cry. Then again, she thought as she was slumped over crying, Sonic always tells the truth. I guess what he said was true...I am inexperienced in comparision to them. I shouldn't be blaming Sonic for that...I should be blaming myself!

With that thought, Amy lifted her head and tried to fight back the tears. "Oh, who am I kidding?" she said to herself while sniffling, "I'll never be as good as Sonic and the rest, even with new Extreme Gear. I should find Sonic and say that I don't wanna race with them. I'd only cause them more trouble anyways!"

Amy was about to do just that when a building caught her eye. It was a shop that sold Extreme Gear, and it looked kinda old in comparison to the rest of the buildings in Metal City. Seeing this, Amy said to herself, "Eh...I guess it couldn't hurt to look for a new Extreme Gear anyways. My Pink Rose has gotten a bit clunky, even though Tails always keeps it in tip-top shape."

Saying that, Amy picked up her Extreme Gear and headed across the street to the shop. As she entered, she saw all kinds of Extreme Gear from all three types: Board, Bike, and Skate-type Gear. She liked all three kinds, but was more used to handling Board-type Gear, so she looked in that section. To Amy's dismay, all the Board-type gear there were ones that Sonic and the rest had already collected from the Grand Prix. "Aww, phooey..." said Amy in a sad tone, "We have all these already. Haven't they come out with a new model yet?"

"Can I help you, young lady?" came a voice from behind Amy.

Amy quickly turned around a little surprised to see the store manager right next to her. He was a middle-aged man and stood about 5' 8". He was wearing the store's uniform with his nametag on, which read the name Chad. "Uhh...I'm looking for a new type of Board Gear." said Amy, relieved to see that it was someone friendly.

"Well," said Chad, "we don't have any new models in yet. Can I interest you in a Bike or Skate Gear?"

"I like those kind," said Amy in response, "but I'm best with Board types. You sure you don't have any new ones?"

Chad looked at Amy, who had a cute but somewhat serious look on her face. "Actually, I think I just might have one...follow me please." he said.

Amy didn't know what was going on, but decided to play along anyways and followed Chad to the back of the store. Soon they came to a door that had a sign on it that read Store Manager Access Only!. Chad pulled out a set of keys and found a sparkly silver one and opened the door. Amy followed him inside the room. The room was completely empty, save for one thing: A large Board-type Extreme Gear on a display stand sitting in the middle of the room. The Gear was about 5 feet long and about 3 feet wide, and had a glossy chrome red finish painted on it. It almost looked like the Powerful Gear that Knuckles had picked up during the Grand Prix, but larger and was a different color. Amy walked closer to it and marveled at how beautiful this Gear looked to her. "What Gear is this?" asked Amy.

"It's true name has been lost for many years," said Chad walking up to Amy, "but most people nowadays call it: The Massive Gear."

"Massive...Gear?" said Amy at length. Indeed, to her the Gear was massive, easily making her look short to it. She only came up about three-quarters of the Gear's height. "So, why is it back here in this empty room?" she asked.

"This Gear was used by the ancient Babylonians," explained Chad, "although no one knows why it is called this or what powers it possesses. One thing is certain, though: It is said to give the user a guaranteed victory in an Extreme Gear race. I've had it for years and kept it back here for security reasons."

Amy pondered on what Chad had just said. A guaranteed victory? she thought to herself while staring at the Gear, That's a little hard to believe, even for me. I honestly hope this Gear isn't a piece of junk that he's trying to pawn off on me, but I have a feeling that this Gear could help me out with Sonic and the race.

After thinking for another minute, Amy spoke out loud: "How much do you want for it?" she asked Chad.

"I'll be reasonable for you. How does 2,000 Rings sound?" said Chad.

"Hmmm...." said Amy, still finding it rather hard to believe that a piece of Extreme Gear could net her and her team an instant victory, but she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay, it's a deal. Do you take Ring Checks?"

"Of course!" said Chad with a smile on his face. With that, Amy wrote the check, handed it to Chad, and the sale was final.

Amy walked out of the store with her new Extreme Gear in tow. Despite the fact that the Gear was larger than her, for some unknown reason, it felt light as a feather! Amy had sold the Pink Rose to the store. She was a little sad to part with it, but she knew she couldn't carry both Gears at the same time. As she was walking down the sidewalk, she thought to herself, Hmm...maybe I should practice with this new Gear. I don't know how it handles or what powers it possesses, so that would be a reasonable thing to do. With that thought in mind, she decided to take the subway to the Metal City Extreme Gear Training Track, or the M.C.E.G.T.T. for short. She hopped on the subway train and headed over to the track.

Meanwhile, Sonic was busy at the Desert Ruins Strip, getting a feel for the land and practicing with his Extreme Gear. All the while he was practicing, his thoughts were on what he had said to Amy earlier. I think I may have been too harsh on her. he reasoned in his mind, She has gotten better for sure, but...Jet and the rest are top-notch Extreme Gear racers. Not only that, but that new guy, Blitz, seems to be quite the racer himself. I don't want to put Amy in danger like I have in the past, but I already said that she was our fourth member, so I have to accept that. I just have a bad feeling that Amy is gonna be in trouble again...

Back in Metal City, Amy had arrived at the Training Track. Oddly enough, no one was there, and the place looked abandoned. "I guess after the Grand Prix, the people who ran the place shut this place down because it was only a fad." reasoned Amy.

However, Amy noticed that there was a door open on one side. She knew she shouldn't go in, but she was desperate to try out her new Gear, so she looked to see if no one was around, then made a mad dash to the open door and went inside. When she made it in, she saw an oval-shaped track in a large, dome-like room. The room was meant to be like an indoor stadium, and the roof was about 60 to 70 feet up in the air. Amy stared around the room for a few minutes, astounded by the immense size of the room. When she finally got herself back down to earth, she headed over to the track's starting line, hopped on her new Gear, and started to circle the track. The Gear went much faster than her old Pink Rose, and yet it had good steering and control. It was almost as if the Gear had fine-tuned itself to Amy's personal liking. "Wow, this Gear rocks!!" said Amy while turning the first corner.

As she turned the second corner that led back to the starting line, Amy suddenly felt a slight tingling sensation in her legs. She noticed this and started to slow down, but stayed on her Extreme Gear. At first she thought that all the running around Metal City was just making her legs cramp up a bit, so she ignored it and continued. However, as she crossed the starting line again to begin a second lap around the track, the tingling sensation got stronger and it had soon gone from just her legs to all over her body. Amy slowed down again and started to get worried. Soon, the tingling sensation had intensified and Amy was about to scream when all of a sudden, a bright flash of whitish-blue light surrounded her and expanded about 10 feet around her. Amy closed her eyes as the light engulfed her. Then, everything went white...

"....Uhhh....wha...what...happened?" moaned Amy as she was coming to.

Amy was slowly regaining her vision as she slipped back from the blinding white-blue light that had engulfed her a few moments ago. Soon, her vision had finally come into focus, and she looked at her hands. Nothing seemed different; she still looked like herself. "Whoa...that was weird." said Amy to herself, "I honestly hope this isn't one of Eggman's tricks..."

Then, Amy stood up...and bonked her head on something, causing a loud THUMP. "OW!!!" she yelled, "What the...?!"

Amy rubbed her head and looked above her, and saw that her head had hit...the ceiling? "HUH?! How'd the ceiling get lower?!" she exclaimed.

Then Amy looked down...WAY down. She noticed that she was still on her Extreme Gear, and it had come to a full stop with the engine idly running. "Wha...does this Gear help me fly or something?" she wondered out loud.

It was then that Amy had noticed that her voice seemed a lot louder than normal, and that it was reverberating throughout the entire room. Then, Amy looked and saw that she wasn't in the air at all...her Extreme Gear was still hovering inches off the ground, like it normally should. Not only that, but for some odd reason, the stadium-like room seemed a lot more cramped up, and Amy couldn't even see the track anymore. That's when it hit her like a ton of bricks: "Oh....My....GOD!!! I'm HUGE!!!" she yelled, with a lot of nervousness and fear in her voice.

Amy's guess was right on the button. She indeed had somehow grown to an enormous height, about roughly 55 feet high. Not only that, but for some strange reason, the Gear she was still on had also grown in size to equal out her size and allow her to continue riding it. Unfortunately, with the combination of her at her new size as well as the size of her Gear, she couln't move much without cracking down the walls and destroying the building she was in. Thankfully for her, her outfit had also grown with her. Noticing this, Amy felt a little relieved, for she knew at this size, privacy would be VERY hard to acquire. Still, it didn't make her feel any better, knowing that if she made any sudden movements, the building could collapse on her. "I...I...I'm scared!" she cried to herself, her voice once again filling the remaining parts of the room.

However, there was sill one part of the room unoccupied by her Gear. It looked just big enough to hop off her Gear and land on the ground. Seeing as this would be the only way to move, she hopped off her Extreme Gear and landed with both feet on the ground. A loud BOOOOOM filled the air as she landed. Amy then noticed something as she got off: Everything seemed to be growing itself. But soon, she realized that the room wasn't growing...she was shrinking! Soon, she had returned to normal size. "What the...what in the heck is going on here?!" she exclaimed, getting quite confused at the whole matter.

She turned around at her Extreme Gear, thinking that it was still as large as ever. But instead, it too had returned to it's normal size and proportions. Amy went over an picked it up off the ground, eyeing it warily. Could this Gear have caused it, or am I only dreaming? she thought to herself. Nah...there's no way a piece of Extreme Gear could do that...could it?

Amy, still holding the Gear in her hands, decided that there was only one way to find out. She hopped on it again and waited. A few minutes went by and nothing had happened. What's wrong with this thing? she thought to herself, even more confused than ever. Hmm...maybe I need to be racing on it...

With that, Amy started circling around the track again, this time picking up the pace faster and giving the Gear more gas. Soon, she felt that same tingling sensation as before, and it was once again intensifying. Amy closed her eyes and came to a stop, feeling the sensation getting stronger. Then, the same white-blue flash of light filled the air around her and everything whited out. When it faded, Amy opened her eyes again, only to find that, once again, she was 55 feet tall and that her board had grown to support her once again. "I knew it!" said Amy, her voice again filling the room, "It is this Gear that's causing this! But why...and how?"

Suddenly, Amy remembered something. The store manager had told her that no one knew what powers the Gear had, and many had called it The Massive Gear. THAT'S IT! thought Amy, a smile coming on her face, That must be why it's called The Massive Gear! It makes the rider become giant-sized, enabling them to win a race without worry! That's...AWESOME!! Now Sonic and the rest of us can win the race with Jet without any struggle!

Sonic...Amy wondered what Sonic would think of her at this size. Suddenly, Amy got a cocky grin on her face, soon followed by a teasing chuckle. "Heh...I GOTTA show Sonic this!" she said, and then hopped off her Gear, returning her and the Massive Gear back to normal size.

Amy quickly strated to run out of the stadium, when she noticed that she had left two large imprints of her shoes in the floor. If anyone had been there, she would've done some serious damage to them, or worse..."Eh, it doesn't matter." she said to herself, "No one comes here anymore anyways." With that, she exited out of the room and back outside.

Amy then wondered where Sonic could be. She could hop on her Gear and get a good look around at her new size, but that would've surely frightened all the people in Metal City, who would think of her as some freaky monster or something. That's when she remembered something else: Tails had made wristwatches for the team that acted as both a GPS and a walkie-talkie that extended out for 300 miles (it still told time too!). Happy that she remembered, she brought her right arm up and pressed the blue button on the watch. Soon, a map of the surrounding area had popped up and a blue dot flashed on it. That indicated where Sonic was. "So, he's at the Desert Ruins Strip practicing, huh?" she said as she turned the GPS off, "Well, I'll go there and give him the surprise of his life!"

With saying that, Amy went to the subway station again, this time heading out for Desert Ruins, knowing that she was going to give Sonic not only a huge surprise, but also a run for his money...

Meanwhile, back at Sand Ruins Strip, Sonic was still practicing on his Extreme Gear. He had gotten a good feel for the area around him and felt as if he was ready to race Jet and the Babylon Rogues all by himself! "Well, I think I'm ready." he said to himself while hopping off his Gear, "I sure hope Amy and the rest have gotten some good practice, too."

Sonic was about to head back to the hotel when he heard a voice that was all too familiar to him: Amy's. "Hey, Sonic!!!" she yelled in the distance, trying to get Sonic's attention.

Sonic turned around and saw that Amy was running towards him, all while carrying a large board with her. Sonic ran up to meet her. "Hey, Amy." he said when he caught up to her, "What're you doing out here? Isn't it hot for ya?"

Amy, catching her breath, looked up at Sonic and said, "Not really. I came here to find you, and show you my new Extreme Gear. Take a look!" Amy then held the Massive Gear in front of her so Sonic could get a good look at it.

Sonic looked at the Massive Gear, thinking it was just a new model that Amy had picked up, and knew that he had never seen it before. "Sweet Gear, Amy!" he said with a smile, "Where'd you get it?"

"I bought it in Metal City. It was the only one they had." she replied.

"Hmm...not bad, Amy. It looks fast, despite it's size." said Sonic.

Amy then thought of a really cool, yet somewhat cruel, idea. "Hey, Sonic...you wanna have a practice race with me?" she said.

Sonic looked at Amy with a surprised look on his face. What? Is she serious? he thought to himself, not believing what he just heard, Doesn't she know that I can outdo her easily? What is she thinking? Sonic then realized that Amy was indeed serious on the matter, for she had a serious look on her face.

"Are you sure, Amy?" asked Sonic, still making sure she was serious on the matter, "I won't take it easy on you if you want to race me!"

"Sure I'm sure!" said Amy with a smile, "I won't either! Didn't you say the other day that you'll never back down from a challenge? What's keeping you from backing down from mine?"

Sonic admitted that he did say that, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Alright, if you say so. See that rock over there?" Sonic then pointed to a large rock embedded in the sand a few thousand feet away. "We'll race to there. First one to touch it wins, OK?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Amy, still with a wide smile on her face. "Hey, Sonic...how about we up the stakes a little?" she added.

"What do you mean 'up the stakes'?" asked Sonic, not knowing what Amy meant.

"How about this:" Amy started, "If you win, I'll stop bothering you on trying to marry me for good. But...if I win, you take me out to dinner, no questions asked! Sound good to you?"

Sonic thought Amy had lost it, knowing very well that he can outdo her at Extreme Racing anyday, on or off Extreme Gear. Getting overconfident as always, Sonic said to Amy, "OK, it's a deal!"

"One last thing, though..." said Amy, "I'm feeling nice today, so I'll give you a three-second head start, OK?"

Now she's making it TOO easy! thought Sonic, knowing that he'd easily win this race. "OK, if you insist!" he said out loud.

"Just be ready to buy me dinner when we're done, Sonic!" said Amy with the same broad smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah...you'd just better be ready to eat sand!" retorted Sonic in an amusing manner.

Amy ignored Sonic's remark and drew a line in the sand with her foot, indicating the starting line. Her and Sonic then stepped up to it, ready to race. "On the count of three, you go. Then I'll count to three and then I'll go, OK?" she told Sonic.

"Whenever you're ready!" answered Sonic, already on his Extreme Gear and ready to go.

"One...Two....THREE!" counted Amy, and just as soon as she said 'THREE!', Sonic dashed off the starting line at full speed.

"One...Two...Three!" Amy counted again, and on three she was off, knowing that within moments, the Massive Gear's powers would kick in and clinch her this race, not to mention a free dinner with Sonic.

Meanwhile, up further ahead, Sonic had a wide smile on his face, knowing that winning this race would mean that Amy would finally stop bothering him about marriage. He was already about halfway to the rock, with an estimated 2000 feet left to cover and counting. Sonic then turned around to see if Amy was catching up or not. Much to his surprise, she was within sight distance of him, and was slowly but surely catching up to him! Wow, that Gear of her's is fast! thought Sonic as he saw Amy approching in the distance, Maybe I underestimated her...so it's time to kick it up a notch! With that, Sonic kicked on the booster and shot forward, covering about a good 300 to 400 feet within seconds. He was about 500 feet from his goal now, and even if Amy had kicked on her Gear to full speed, she wouldn't catch up in time to Sonic. Knowing this, Sonic felt overjoyed as his goal was within sight.

He would have made it, however, if he hadn't noticed a bright white-blue flash behind him. Sonic, about 200 feet from his goal, abruptly stopped and turned around, wondering if Amy was okay. Instead of seeing Amy, though, he saw a glowing sphere of white-blue light heading straight for him! Sonic panicked and started to get going again, but before he could start, the sphere engulfed him and everything went white...

"Uggh...huh....wha....what was that?" said Sonic as he uncovered his eyes and was coming to.

Sonic eventually regained his vision and looked around. All he could see was the blue desert sky around him, with a few spotty clouds in the far distance. "What just happened?" he wondered out loud, putting his hands down on the ground.

However, the ground felt different to him. Sonic looked down at the ground he was sitting on. Instead of the grainy tan-colored sand, he saw what looked like a soft, white substance, which resembled fabric. Sonic began to feel a little nervous, knowing that he wasn't sitting on the ground he was on a moment ago. He pressed his hand into the white substance, and it felt almost like a bed cushion, and just as soft. He then stood up and said, "Huh...Is this what is called Heaven?"

"Pretty close to it!" said a loud feminine voice, which seemed to surround Sonic.

Sonic jumped a few feet in the air in surprise. "HUH? Who said that?" he yelled, but then he recognized the voice...one that he wished it really wasn't.

"Look behind ya!" said the voice again, this time with a slight giggle in it.

Sonic, ever so nervous, slowly turned around to look behind him, and nearly wet himself at what he saw! There was Amy. Or at least, Amy's face, which almost took up half of Sonic's field of vision. Sonic yelped and fell on his rear. "YAAAAA!"

He then found out that the ground he was sitting on wasn't a cloud, but the fabric of the glove on Amy's right hand! He was sitting in the palm of her right hand! Sonic was panic-stricken, thinking that this was just a nightmare and that he would wake up from it soon, so he pinched himself as hard as he could. "OW!" he yelped, feeling a slight sting.

"What in the world are you doing, my little Sonic?" said Amy, once again her voice seemingly coming from everywhere.

Sonic looked up and still saw that Amy's giant face was still looming over him, and that he was still sitting in Amy's right hand. Sonic just stared up into Amy's large face, with a look of TOTAL disbelief on his face. Somehow, some way, Amy had suddenly gotten large enough to hold him in her hand. Soon, Sonic found his voice and tried to speak. "Uhhh....A-A-Amy?" he stuttered, trying to find the words caught in his throat, "Is t-t-that y-y-you?! Wh-what happened?!!"

"I just won the race, that's what!" said Amy, a hint of mockery in her loud voice.

The race...! Sonic ran over to the end of Amy's hand and looked down and saw that Amy was standing right next to the rock he had indicated was the finish line before, and that Amy had one foot resting on it and the other carefully balanced on her Extreme Gear, which had also grown to support her. Sonic crawled back to the middle of the giant hand he was on and slumped down on his stomach, feeling a sense of dread and embarassment as he had just lost what he thought was the easiest race ever, only to know that he had it handed to him by Amy Rose herself.

Pretty soon, Sonic got back up on his feet and looked back up at Amy. "So I lost, so what?" he said, "That still doesn't explain how you're like this, Amy! What happened to you? How did you get this big?"

"I guess I should explain it to you, Sonic. You at least deserve that..." said Amy, and she began telling Sonic about how she acquired the Massive Gear, how she found out what it did, and how it made her this large. Sonic at first didn't believe Amy was serious about this, but he knew he could trust her, even at this size. He should trust her, for if he didn't, Amy would probably punish him for not believing her in some cruel fashion.

"So, what you're saying is...this 'Massive Gear' of yours makes you this big?" asked Sonic.

"That's about the size of it!" said Amy, not knowing she just made a ridiculous pun.

"Bu-but that's impossible, Amy!" exclaimed Sonic, still not quite believing it, "How can a piece of Extreme Gear do THIS?!"

"I honestly don't know, Sonic..." said Amy, this time a little quieter. She knew if she talked too loud, it could seriously hurt Sonic's eardrums, or worse. "All I know is that this Gear does this, and I like it!"

Sonic sighed in frustration. It seemed like the only somewhat reasonable explanation at the current time, and Sonic had to admit that Amy was that size. Amy looked at Sonic, seeing a slightly depressed look on his face. This had her worried. "What's the matter, Sonic?" she said as she brought her hand closer to her face.

"I dunno..." said Sonic, sounding as depressed as he looked, "After you stormed off in Metal City, I thought about a few things."

The thought of that event miffed Amy a little, and she gave a glare to Sonic. "Hey...that reminds me!" she said, not being as quiet as before, "You never did apologize to me for saying all that! I should teach you a lesson in manners around women!"

"HUH? Amy, wha-" but before Sonic could finish, Amy plucked Sonic up in her left hand, holding him by his spines with her large thumb and finger and lifted him high into the air, almost 50 feet off the ground and dangled him around like a little toy. This got Sonic dizzy after a few moments, and he felt like he was going to throw up. Then he heard Amy say something else: "Have a nice trip!"

Sonic's heart was pounding as Amy had let go of her little hedgehog and sent him plummeting to the ground. Sonic was so scared that he didn't have time to try to cushion his landing. He knew in a few seconds, he would come crashing into the ground headfirst, and even with the sand there, it would break his neck at best. Sonic saw the ground getting closer and closer, and shut his eyes tight waiting for the horrible impact...

....But, just as he was about to hit the ground, he stopped. Sonic, breaking out in a large sweat, slowly opened his eyes to find that he was hovering only inches away from the ground. He turned and looked up to see that Amy had caught him in midfall with her thumb and finger and was dangling him by his legs only inches from the sand. Amy had a large grin on her face, but Sonic was not amused one bit. "AMY!! You could've killed me!! What's your problem?!"

"It's like I said, Sonic..." she said from above, "I was teaching you a lesson in manners around women. Now where's my apology?"

"OK, OK!! I'm sorry Amy!" said Sonic, desperate to have to get free from Amy's strong but gentle grip, "I admit you have gotten better at Extreme Gear, and I think you're just as capable as we are, alright? Now please, don't ever do that again, OK?!"

"Fair enough." said Amy, and she hoisted Sonic back up and sat him in her right palm again. Sonic, relieved to see he was back in a safe position, gave a big sigh and looked up at Amy. Amy looked back at Sonic, seeing that he had learned his lesson.

"Oy...and I thought I was a goner for sure..." sighed Sonic, still breaking out in a sweat and breathing heavily. It's not everyday that you are dropped from 50 feet in the air and live to tell about it.

"Oh, Sonic...Did you really think that I was going to kill you? I'm not like that!" said Amy, bringing Sonic closer to her face. "Now, what did you mean about how you had some thoughts about what you said?"

"Well..." began Sonic, who had finally gotten over what just happened, "I realized that I shouldn't criticize my friends like that. I thought that you were still not as good as me, Tails, or Knuckles, and I didn't want to put you in any danger, like I have before. I just didn't want to see you get hurt, that's all..."

"You mean...you were concerned for me?" asked Amy.

"Well, in a way...yeah...I guess I was, huh?" answered Sonic, who seemed to give a faint blush on his face.

Amy was overjoyed inside. Sonic actually voiced some concern for her! This seemed to mean that he had feelings for her, and Amy knew that she had picked a good friend. To show her thanks, Amy brought Sonic closer to her face and kissed him, her lips pretty much taking up his entire upper body. Sonic was REALLY surprised at this, for he had never been kissed before by Amy. Hit on, yes, but not actually kissed! He at first felt disgusted of this, but soon felt it was rather nice, despite the weirdness of it all. Soon Amy broke the kiss and looked down at her little blue hero. "Oh, Sonic...you can actually be a bit of a romantic at times, tee-hee!" she said as she giggled.

"Heh...don't think that this means I will marry you still!" said Sonic, knowing that Amy was getting that look again.

Amy looked disappointed at hearing Sonic say that to her, but she let it go. "That reminds me..." she said, knowing that something just came to her, "I won the race, Sonic. So that means..."

"What? Oh.....no...." said Sonic with an exasperating sigh, "That means I have to treat you to dinner, huh?"

"That's right! A deal's a deal, OK?" said Amy, seeming overjoyed at the thought.

"Yeah....you're right. I never go back on my word, Amy." said Sonic, giving in to what he was just reminded of. "But, uhhh....where are we going to find enough food for you? You probably have a big enough appetite for 10 meals!"

"Good point, Sonic." said Amy, "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot to tell you something else about the Massive Gear." Instead of saying anything, Amy put Sonic down on the ground. As Sonic got off, he turned and looked up at Amy, intimidated by looking at her at her full height. Sonic barely came no higher than her kneecap, and knew that if she took one false step, it could mean hedgehog pancakes for dinner. "I would advise you to clear a spot for me Sonic." Amy warned.

Sonic took no objections to that and quickly ran a few dozen feet away. When Amy saw he was at a safe distance, she hopped off the Massive Gear and created a loud BOOM as she landed on both feet, creating two large imprints of her shoes in the sand below her. Almost immediately, she and the Gear began to revert to normal size. Sonic stared with wide eyes as Amy and the Gear began to shrink. A few moments later, Amy and the Gear were normal-sized once again. Sonic ran back to Amy, a hint of concern on his face. "Whoa, Amy...so you return to normal when you're off the Gear?" asked Sonic.

"Yep." said Amy as she turned to face Sonic, "It's pretty neat, huh?"

"Whoa..." was all Sonic could say.

Amy noticed that it was starting to get late, and that the desert would become cold pretty soon. "We should get going. It's been a long day for both of us." she said to Sonic.

"You're right Amy." he responded, "Let's get back to the hotel. As promised, dinner's on me."

"Great!! Thank you, Sonic! You're the best!" she exclaimed, and took Sonic's hand as the two ran off to the subway station, Extreme Gears in hand.

Meanwhile, back at his workshop near Metal City, Tails was busy putting the finishing touches on his and Knuckles' new Extreme Gears, the Yellow Tail Duo and the Red Rock MK II. Tails decided that since he upgraded Sonic's Extreme Gear during the EX World Grand Prix, he thought it would be fine to upgrade his and Knuckles' Gear as well, giving them a good edge in tommorow's race. The sun was just setting below the horizon when he had finished. Tails gave off a loud yawn and headed out to see Knuckles, who was, as before, punching a concrete block. "Hey, Knuckles! Still at it, huh?" he said coming up to Knuckles.

"Yeah, I'm keeping at it." responded Knuckles, giving one last jab to the block before facing Tails, "Maybe I need to take a break..."

Knuckles, despite how tough he is, was indeed showing some signs of fatigue, as sweat was rolling down his forehead. Tails put his hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Why don't you get something to eat and call it a night, OK? We got a big race tommorow, and we need you to stay focused. You're the brawn of our team, Knuckles! You need to make sure Storm or any of the other guys don't pull anything funny, OK?"

"Yeah, you're right, Tails." admitted Knuckles, "But...I was just wondering where Sonic and Amy are right now? I'm not worried much about Sonic, seeing how he can take care of himself, but Amy I do worry for. She's tough, sure, but she still has that hint of helplessness in her."

"Not to worry, Knuckles!" said Tails, holding up his left arm, which had another of the wristwatches he made for the team. "Remember? I made these so we can find each other! Let's see where they are right now..."

With that, Tails pressed the blue and pink buttons on the watch, and soon two blips, one blue and one pink, showed up on the GPS map. Oddly enough, both were heading back to the hotel. "You see?" said Tails, reassuring his friend, "They're just on thier way back to the hotel now. Nothing to worry about!"

"If you say so, buddy." said Knuckles, feeling some relief that Sonic and Amy were okay, "But...why do I have this weird feeling that something just happened? Something odd...strange...powerful."

"You've been hanging around the Master Emerald for too long, Knuckles!" joked Tails, "They're fine! Sonic probably apologized to Amy and now they are making up as friends."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just a bit of a worrywart, that's all." said Knuckles, rubbing his forehead of sweat. "Well, I'm gonna get going back there myself. Don't stay up too long, okay, Tails? You need your rest too!"

"I know. I just need to run some final checks on our new Gears, then I'll head back, okay?" said Tails.

"Okay, see you back at the hotel!" said Knuckles as he was walking off.

Tails waved back and went back into his workshop. Strangely, he had a worried look on his face. I know how you feel, Knuckles. he thought to himself, I was worried about them too, so I kept track of them the entire time they were gone. But...why did Amy's blip suddenly dissappear and then reappear larger than before like that? Maybe it was just a glitch in the system, I don't know...

Back at the hotel, Amy and Sonic were in the hotel's café. Sonic kept his word and was treating Amy to some subway sandwiches for dinner. Sonic ordered a chili subway with swiss cheese (yeah, he has a weird sense of taste, that's for sure), while Amy had ordered a pepperoni and turkey sub. As they were eating, Amy noticed that Sonic wasn't eating as fast as he usually does. Concerned, Amy asked, "Is somethin' wrong, Sonic? You not hungry or what?"

"No, it's not that..." said Sonic as he finished another bite of his sub sandwich, "It's just...well...after seeing you at that size, I remember how everyone has said before how sorta helpless you are. Now with that Massive Gear of yours, you don't seem that way anymore."

Amy didn't know what to make of Sonic's query, but she tried to respond as best as she could. "Hey, it's okay Sonic. I understand completely. Back in those days past, I was nothing more than a thorn in your side, playing the damsel in distress or just getting in your way. I've just wanted to help, that's all."

"Hey, you HAVE helped us in the past, Amy!" said Sonic, sounding a little worried about what Amy had said, "Remember back on Prison Island whan you helped me escape from that underwater cell? If it wasn't for you, I would've surely been blown up with the rest of the island! You're not helpless, Amy, whether or not you are tall enough to hold me in your hand! You're a tough girl, Amy, and I respect that!"

Amy blushed and had almost started crying when she heard Sonic say those words. "Oh, Sonic....!" she said in a slightly choking voice, "You ARE the best! I can always count on you! You're right: whether or not I got this Gear doesn't change how I am! I'm still me! And now, thanks to you, I realize that!" Amy then got up from her chair and hugged Sonic tightly, taking Sonic by surprise. But his surprised look faded and let the hug continue. After all, what's a hug between friends now and then?

"Uh...you're welcome Amy." said Sonic in response, "I'm glad I could help. Now, let's finish dinner and get some rest. We got a race to win tommorow!"

"Yeah! We'll win, won't we Sonic?" said Amy, releasing the hug and sitting back down in her chair.

"Yep! Those Babylon Rogues won't know what hit 'em!" said Sonic with a big grin on his face. But then, Sonic seemed a bit concerned about something. "Uh, Amy? Do you think we outghta tell Tails and Knuckles about your new Gear?"

Amy pondered on that question for a moment and then said, "No, let's surprise them like I surprised you at the race tommorow! It'll be fun!"

"Heh...yeah, you're right! Let's see the look on thier faces when we got a giant partner on our team!" laughed Sonic. Amy had joined in the laughing at the very thought of how Tails and Knuckles would react to seeing Amy 55 feet tall and speeding by.

Soon, Sonic and Amy finished dinner and left for thier rooms. Before Sonic entered his room, though, he turned to Amy and said, "Sleep well, OK?"

"I will, thanks!" said Amy, and she went into her room and closed the door.

In the guy's hotel room, Tails was waiting for Sonic (knuckles had already gone to bed, by the way). "So, how'd the date go?" asked Tails, who seemed to have a chuckle in his voice.

"WHA-How'd you know...that...uh.. I mean...ummm..." spluttered Sonic. He was embarassed to know that somehow Tails knew about Sonic and Amy's little "date" together, and his face was almost as red as Knuckles.

"Hehehe..." chuckled Tails, who whipped out a small device, "I heard everything going on downstairs with this microphone device. It can even hear through walls!"

Sonic felt a little unnerved at this. Did Tails really listen in on them? Did he know about the secret of Amy's new Gear? "Um...what did ya hear?" asked Sonic, nervous.

"Oh, I heard that Amy got a new Gear, and that you reassured her that she wasn't just there to cause trouble. That was SO sweet of you Sonic! Giving her confidence like that before the race is an excellent way to lift her spirits, especially after what you said to her earlier this morning."

"Oh, yeah..." said Sonic, relieved to know that Tails didn't hear ALL the details. "Well, you know me: I'm always around to lend a hand to a friend!"

"Yeah, you are, Sonic. C'mon, let's get some sleep. We got a big day tommorow." said Tails, climbing into his bed.

"You have no idea..." said Sonic with a big yawn. He then climbed into his bed, clapped his hands, and the lights shut off. He and Tails then went to sleep.

However, unbeknowest to Sonic, Tails wasn't quite sleeping. He was laying there with his eyes open, thinking to himself. I wonder...what did Sonic mean by having a giant partner on our team?

The gang were at the Sand Ruins Strip at noon, preparing to race Jet and the Babylon Rogues in an hour. Jet and his gang were there too, getting prepped to go. Each team had made a tent to house thier team until the race started. The race was unofficial, so no cameras were around to record it, nor was there any audience to watch. Knowing this, Amy was relieved, for she didn't want anyone outside of Sonic and her friends to know about the Massive Gear's powers. Amy was stretching out in the tent, getting herself limber enough to keep her balance on her Gear. Since the tent was pretty roomy, she could do this without bothering Sonic and the rest. Sonic then walked over to Amy, a look of slight concern on his face.

"Amy?" asked Sonic. Amy stopped stretching and stood up to look at Sonic. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" he continued, "I don't wanna be reponsible if you get hurt again..."

"Sonic, we've been over this already!" said Amy, "I told you, with this Massive Gear, we are sure to win! Besides, I don't think the Rogues will expect it, so we've got the element of surprise on our side! I'll be just fine, OK? Don't worry!"

"You're right, Amy." said Sonic, feeling a little stupid for asking such a dumb question, "We will win! We'll show 'em who's the fastest, right?"

"Right!" she replied, and gave Sonic a high-five. "Um...Sonic? Would it be okay if I started the race a little later than the rest of you?"

"Huh? Why would you wanna do that?" asked Sonic, wondering why Amy asked something like that.

"That way, if the Massive Gear's powers kick in early, you guys won't be hurt by be running over you or something. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you or my friends!" Amy said.

"I understand, Amy. I trust you." said Sonic. He then turned and left Amy back to her stretching.

Over in the Babylon Rogues' tent, Jet and the rest were trying to come up with a method to win. However, as much as Jet tried, he couldn't think of anything good enough. "RRRRGGGHHHH!!!! This is nuts! I need a strategy to win against Sonic's team, but what?!" he cried to himself, feeling frustrated.

"Uhh, boss? I think I might have an idea." said Storm.

"You?! What are you talking about?!" yelled Jet, knowing that Storm wasn't the smartest of the bunch.

"Cool down, Jet. Maybe he might have something." said Wave, trying to calm him down. "Let's hear it, Storm."

"Well," Storm started, "I was thinking that while we are powerful in a group...um...what if we split up and take them down one by one? If we do that, we might gain an upper hand..."

Jet was about to yell back at Storm for being a blithering idiot as always, but after hearing Storm's idea, he fell silent, looking as if he was in deep thought. After a minute or so, he looked back at Storm, a wide grin on his face. "You know, Storm...that just might be the smartest thing you have ever said!" said Jet, knowing he had an idea.

"Uhhh...thanks boss...I think." said Storm, not knowing whether or not it was a compliment.

"Okay, then...here's what we'll do..." began Jet as he traced some images in the sand below him. "At first we'll go in our usual bunched-up formation. However, when Sonic's team catches up, we'll break formation like Storm said and go after them one by one. Blitz will handle Sonic, Storm will handle Knuckles, and Wave will handle Tails. I will maintain our lead, as always."

"What about that pink girl?" asked Blitz, who was leaning against the wall of the tent, calm and collected as ever.

"We won't have to worry about her." continued Jet, "She'll just be there causing trouble for the gang, and sooner or later, she'll admit that she was never cut out for the big leagues! Once we take care of them, we'll go back in formation and hit our boosters to full speed and leave them buried up to thier necks in sand! Oh, that will be a priceless moment!!"

"Sounds good, Jet." said Blitz as he was walking out of the tent, but then turned to look at him, "But don't forget: Overconfidence is the greatest enemy." Blitz then left the tent, with Wave and Storm soon following.

Jet just sat on the ground, thinking to himself. HMPH! What's he worried about? We've upgraded our Gears to be the fastest things ever, and here he is saying we shouldn't get overconfident. I know he means well, but Blitz worries too much! We'll show Sonic and the rest of his team that the Babylon Rogues are still the fastest beings around. As for that Amy girl, she won't be a problem at all! She's just a novice when it comes to Extreme Gear! She won't be anywhere of a big problem! As Jet was finishing his thought, he grabbed his improved Extreme Gear and headed out of the tent. I'll show them that no one, not even a little girl hedgehog can best Jet the Hawk!! he thought to himself.

Little did Jet realize that he was about to regret ever thinking those thoughts about Amy...

By the time everyone was ready to race, it was 2 minutes until the race began. Everyone from each team was at the starting line, set to go. From left to right lined up, it was Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Sonic, Jet, Storm, Wave, and finally Blitz. The two teams were eager to get ready for the race, but Amy was just standing there with the Massive Gear seeming cool and calm, knowing that she had a big advantage in this race, and only her and Sonic knew of it so far. She knew, however, that by the time this race was done, nobody, not even Jet, will call her helpless again.

One minute before the race, Sonic turned to look at Jet. "Hey, just so you know, there's no hard feelings if you lose, right?" he said to Jet, which got his attention.

"Hmph! Maybe not, but don't think that means you'll win, Sonic!" said Jet, getting a little cocky.

"Well, let the best team win!" said Sonic, wanting to shake hands. Jet knew that he had some (though not much) respect for Sonic and decided to go ahead with the handshake. "Well, I guess. Good luck to ya." said Jet as he shook Sonic's hand.

Soon, the 5 second countdown had begun. All the racers were on thier Extreme Gears, ready to kick off the starting line at full speed. All of them, save one: Amy. She did say that she wanted to start a little late in the race so that nobody would know the powers of the Massive Gear yet.

5...4...3...2...1...START!!!

All the racers shot off the starting line at top speed, and soon vanished from Amy's line of sight. She counted to three and then hopped on her Extreme Gear and sped off herself. She soon felt the tingling sensation, and knew that in a few moments, she would help Sonic and the rest win this race and show Jet and the Babylon Rogues one of the things that they would least expect in an Extreme Gear race. She smiled as she felt the tingling getting stronger and soon, the white-bluish light engulfed her and she and her Gear had grown to the proportions noted before. She kicked her booster on and shot forward, knowing that she would catch up in an instant soon.

As this was happening, Sonic and the rest of the team, further ahead and not noticing what was going on behind them, were going at breakneck speeds to try and catch up with Jet and the Rogues. Since the track was totally straight, they didn't have to do much maneuvering around, which allowed them to stay at a high speed. Soon Sonic motioned to Knuckles, "Hey, Knuckles! You go on and try to get Storm outta the way! We'll be behind ya!"

"Got it! I've been waiting for this..." said Knuckles as he sped forward clenching his fists. Although he had shown Storm a whupping or two back at the Grand Prix, Storm still always got on his nerves on the sidelines, and he wanted to give him some payback.

However, Storm, as dim-witted as he usually is, noticed that Knuckles was coming up for an attack, and he knew exactly what to do. "Hey, boss!" yelled Storm, "That red punk's coming up!"

"I see..." said Jet who had a wide grin on his face, "Okay guys, let's do our plan, just like we discussed before! GO!"

With that, Jet and the rest of the Rogues put thier plan into motion. They split off and each went for thier own individual opponent. First up was Storm and Knuckles. Knuckles, who thought he'd sneak up on Storm and surprise him, got a surprise himself as Storm hit his brakes and started his engines again when he was right next to Knuckles. Knuckles wasn't ready for this and Storm punched Knuckles over to the side, causing Knuckles to fall off and tumble a few feet on the sandy ground. His Extreme Gear snapped in half from the impact. "Ha! Take that ya red mutt!" mocked Storm as he sped off back to Jet. As we all know, Knuckles REALLY hates being called that, and he just looked to see Storm speeding off into the distance, all the while pounding his fists into the sand and muttering curses under his breath.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Blitz were really going at it. Sonic was able to evade Blitz's attacks, but each time he did, it nearly took all his energy just to avoid the next one. "Hmm...you're good, Sonic..." said Blitz to himself, "But, I don't think you can dodge me forever." With that, Blitz pulled out a shuriken out of a small bag he was carrying. Apparently, Blitz has had teachings in the ways of the ninja, and he knew exactly where to throw that shuriken. However, even he knew that he wasn't supposed to take the life of his opponents, so instead of throwing the shuriken at Sonic, he instead aimed it at the engine of Sonic's Extreme Gear and threw it with amazing speed and accuracy, and it hit one of the Blue Star II's engines right on the button. The engine cut off and Sonic wiped out, falling flat on his face and seeing Blitz whiz by him. "Don't underestimate me." said Blitz in a calm manner as he sped by Sonic. "Aw, drat!" said Sonic as he slammed his fist to the ground.

Tails and Wave were swerving out of each other's way, trying to make one of them make a mistake so the other can get a clean hit. Wave thought that she has had enough of this, so she pulls out one of her dynamite sticks, lights the fuse, and tosses it at Tails. Tails saw it coming and ducked out of the way, the dynamite easily flying over his head. "Your aim's pathetic, Wave!" yelled Tails, as he turned to look at her behind him. "Heh...who said I was aiming right for you?" said Wave with a sly grin on her face. Tails got worried when he heard this and quickly turned to look in front of him. Before he could do anything though, the dynamite sticks, which had landed in front of Tails, immediately detonated with a loud explosion. Tails wasn't totally engulfed in the blast and was able to successfully fly out of harm's way, due to his technique of flying with his tails, and even though he only suffered a minor burn on his left leg, his Extreme Gear was completely destroyed in the blast, leaving Tails to land in the sand without any means to finish the race. "See ya, loser!" yelled Wave as she passed Tails, who was just sitting there in the sand, knowing that he couldn't finish the race.

Soon, the Babylon Rogues grouped back up and sped out into the distance, leaving Sonic's group in the dust. Or, rather, the sand. Soon the Sonic Team was together and none of them or thier Extreme Gears were in any condition to finish. "Sonic, what do we do now?" said Tails, extremely worried and sad that his hard work on the Extreme Gears was now wasted. "There's no way we can finish the race now!"

"I guess that's it then, huh?" said Knuckles, still ticked off that he got beaten so easily by Storm, "Now we don't have any way to finish this race. We should just head back to Metal City..."

"No way, Knuckles!" said Sonic in a reassuring voice, "We still have one more chance, providing Amy is on her way."

"Amy?" said Knuckles, sounding quite confused, "But, Sonic, how can we win the race with just her? She's not even with us right now..."

Suddenly, as if to answer Knuckles' statement, a loud BOOM could be heard behind the group in the distance. Tails immediately knew that sound. "Hey, wasn't that a sonic boom?" he queried, "What in the world could be fast enough out here to cause that besides Sonic?"

"I know what is..." said Sonic, sounding as if he knew what was coming, "It's Amy."

"HUH?!!" exclaimed Tails and Knuckles, very surprised at Sonic's answer.

"Just wait for it, she'll be here..." said Sonic, seeming calm about this whole thing.

Pretty soon, Tails and Knuckles could see something out in the distance. It looked large and...pink? As the object got closer, they could soon make out what it was. Or rather, who it was. "Uhhh...Sonic?" said Tails at length, "Is...that...?"

"Yep." was all Sonic said, for he knew exactly who it was.

Soon, a large dust cloud surrounded the group. Tails and Knuckles covered thier faces to keep sand getting in thier eyes, but Sonic just stood there, unfazed. A moment later, the dust cloud settled and Tails and Knuckles removed thier hands from thier eyes. "Guys..." said Sonic looking up at a familiar, yet very large face, "Our backup has arrived!"

Tails and Knuckles looked up in the direction Sonic was looking...and they could not believe what they were seeing! There was Amy, riding on her Extreme Gear like she was always, but she had grown to about 55 feet tall! Not only that, but the Extreme Gear was also large enough to support her! Tails was absolutely speechless; normally he would say something scientific such as how Amy could still be healthy at that size, but he was too dumbstruck at the sight of her that he couldn't do anything except stare at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

Knuckles, on the other hand, although just as dumbstruck as Tails, said something he had never said before in his entire life: "Holy Master Emerald!!!"

"Hi, guys! Sorry I'm late!" said Amy, waving down to the group. Tails and Knuckles nervously waved back, both with blank looks on thier faces.

"Yo! Amy!" yelled Sonic up to Amy, just to be sure he could be heard, "Those Rogue punks trashed our Gear! Think you can give us a lift and show 'em who's boss?"

Tails and Knuckles looked at Sonic with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "You mean...you KNEW about this?!" yelled Knuckles, voicing his concern.

"Well...yeah. Amy wanted to keep it a surprise until the race, but she did show it to me the other day." replied Sonic.

"But...how?! This is scientifically impossible!" said Tails, finally finding his voice.

"Never mind that now, little buddy." said Sonic, "Right now, we've got a race to win, right Amy?" Sonic turned to Amy and winked.

"You know it! Hop on everyone and hold on tight!" said Amy, lowering her massive right hand so the gang could climb on.

Sonic rushed onto Amy's large hand and sat down, holding onto the fabric of her glove. Tails and Knuckles, however, were still a little nervous, probably for the fact that if Amy wasn't careful enough, she could severly hurt or even kill them. Sonic looked over to them and shook his head. "Guys! It's okay!" he yelled down to them, "Amy's not gonna hurt you! I know she might seem daunting at her size, but she's as gentle as a butterfly! Trust me! She's still the same Amy!"

Tails remembered how Sonic had said something like that to Amy the other night when he listened in on thier dinner conversation. Renewed with a sense of courage, he flew onto Amy's hand and grabbed as much of the fabric on her glove as he could. Knuckles soon followed, and when Amy saw that the gang was all ready, she gently closed her hand to make sure that they wouldn't fall off. Tails and Knuckles were a bit nervous of this, thinking that they would soon be crushed in Amy's hand, but Sonic just sat there, calm as a spring day. Amy had left enough of her hand open to make sure that they wouldn't suffocate in her grip. Soon, Amy had started up the Massive Gear and they were off, knowing they had some ground to cover before they would catch up to Jet and the Rogues.

Meanwhile, much further ahead, Jet and the rest of the Babylon Rogues were speeding on thier Extreme Gears and doing a premature celebration, knowing that they would easily win the race thanks to the fact that they had disabled three of the four Sonic Team's best racers. Jet thought that he wouldn't have to worry about Amy, as she couldn't catch up to them in a million years (that's what HE thinks, hehe...)! As Jet was busy celebrating, Blitz came alongside Jet to offer his advice. "We may have done away with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles," he said, "but let's not forget that Amy girl. She's still in this race, you know."

"Oh, be quiet!" snapped Jet, "You know as well as I do that there is no way on Earth she could possibly catch up to us!"

"That may be true," replied Blitz in a calm but concerned manner, "but I also know to never underestimate the underdog. You never know if there is a surprise waiting for you."

Jet mumbled nonsense under his breath, thinking that Blitz wasn't serious in what he was saying. "Fine!" he said to him, "If you're so concerned then..." Jet turned to Storm, "Storm, fall back a bit and make sure she's not tailing us, okay?"

"You got it, boss!" said Storm, and with that, Storm slowed down and fell back from the pack, thinking he was about to get some easy prey. Little did Storm know that that role was about to be reversed...

Storm had fallen back enough to the point where Jet and the rest were out of his sight. Storm chuckled to himself, "This'll be fun! I normally don't like hitting girls, but that pink girl's gonna be taught a lesson!" Soon, Storm heard sounds behind him; sounds that sounded like an Extreme Gear engine, except that this one seemed very loud. "Heh, here she comes!" said Storm, preparing to throw another punch as soon as Amy got near. Soon enough, he knew that Amy was right next to him and blindly turned and punched Amy...

...only to find out that he had only punched her shoe. "Whu...HUH?!" yelped Storm as he saw what looked like a large red rock next to him. Then Storm looked up...and up! Storm was shocked to see that his target was somehow at least ten times larger than he was! "Uh...oh..." said Storm at length, "I hope she didn't feel that!"

Unfortunately for Storm, she did. Amy looked down to see a tiny and frightened Storm next to her left side. "Well, well, what have we here?" Amy said with a wide grin on her face.

Storm was panic-stricken and tried to make a break for it on his Extreme Gear, but Amy was too fast for him. She gently plucked Storm and his Extreme Gear off the ground with her left thumb and index finger and brought him up closer to her face. Amy grinned at the sight of Storm quivering in total fear of her, and was actually relishing this role reversal. Soon she spoke up: "Heh, not so tough now, are ya?" she bellowed, her voice surrounding Storm. Storm didn't say anything because for the first time in his career as an Extreme Racer, he was absolutely terrified of his opponent.

But, soon, Storm gathered some courage and spoke back. "Lemme go, you pink freak!!" yelled Storm, not knowing that that was the wrong thing to say to someone much larger than yourself. He would soon know that as Amy glared at Storm.

"How rude!" yelled Amy, "If we weren't racing, I'd squish you right now!" Storm shuddered upon hearing that, hoping that Amy wasn't going to do just that, but Amy wasn't done yet. "However, since I can't do that, I have something better in mind..." With those words, Amy flung Storm as far forward as she could, hurling Storm and his Extreme Gear out into the distance. "And tell Jet and the rest that they're next!" she yelled as Storm disappeared into the distance, all the while screaming his brains out.

Soon enough, Storm had landed in the sand a few thousand feet in front of Jet and the gang. Before he had landed, Storm had wised up and hopped on his Extreme Gear and hovered down to avoid getting hurt upon the landing. "Th-th-th-that...didn't...ju-ju-just...happen...d-did it?" Storm stuttered, really nervous and trying to pretend that it never happened. "Hey! Storm!" yelled Jet coming up to him, "What're you doing up here? I thought I told you to go and take care of Amy! What happened, you doofus?!"

"S-s-s-sorry, b-b-b-boss..." Storm spluttered, "but, that pink girl, she's...she's..." Storm then looked past Jet and saw Amy approaching in the distance. "She's coming right for us!! Run, boss!"

"HUH?! What're ya, ignorant? She can't be-" Jet started, but as he turned to look behind him, his eyes grew wide as the large and intimidating figure of Amy was closing in on the Rogues. "Oh...my...that can't be!! SCATTER!!!" yelled Jet.

The rest of them followed orders and shifted over to the sidelines just as soon as Amy came whizzing by. Amy looked down to see the Rogues looking up at her, all with looks of surprise and disbelief on thier faces. Even Blitz, who usually showed almost no hint of emotion, was dumbstruck at the sight of the gigantic Amy. Amy smiled as she looked down at the once-tough and almost invincible group of Babylon Rogues, but her train of thought was interrupted by Wave's voice.

"HEY!!!" yelled Wave at the top of her lungs, "That's not fair!!"

Amy glared down at Wave and bent down a little to get a good look at her. Wave was paralyzed with fear as Amy's large head moved closer to her. Soon, Amy spoke to Wave. "Oh really?! If I remember correctly, didn't you say anything goes in this race, so long as we don't kill each other?" Wave just didn't say a word, for she knew that Amy was right. Even if she wasn't, she was not about to argue with someone that could squash her like a grape with no trouble. Amy gave a smug smile to Wave, knowing that she just made her eat her own words. Amy then brought her left hand over behind Wave. "Consider this payback for Red Canyon!" said Amy, and with a quick flick of her finger, she knocked Wave off her Extreme Gear and several feet away from the track. Although Amy was trying to be as gentle as possible, the force from her "flick" actually buried Wave headfirst in the sand. Not only that, but Wave's Extreme Gear was also almost fully buried as well. "See ya later, Wave!" mocked Amy as her and the rest sped off.

Amy then realized that the checkpoint was coming up, and she knew that she would have to turn around soon. However, if she made a full 180 degree turn at her size, it would possibly cause a sand tornado that could seriously hurt Jet and the remaining Rogues. She only wanted to get them out of the race, not hurt them. As they were coming up to the checkpoint, Amy slowed down and stopped once she reached it. Jet, who was still awestruck at Amy, decided it was for the better to just keep going, and the remaining Rogues followed suit. When they got there, they turned around and sped off as fast as they could, not wanting to stay around the giant Amy any longer then they had to.

Amy watched as the rest of the Rogues zoomed off. Once she saw them at a decent distance, she fired up the Massive Gear and zoomed onward. Jet and the Rogues, who were only a couple thousand yards away, could still see the giant Amy coming closer. Then, Jet had an idea. Wait a sec... Jet thought, Maybe we should let her pass us!

"Rogues, listen up!" said Jet out loud, "Stick to the sides and let Amy pass us, okay? No questions, just do it!"

Storm and Blitz were a little confused at Jet's request, but decided to go along with it and went to the sidelines. They did it just in time, because Amy just zoomed by, creating a large wave of turbulence behind her. The force of the turbulence was so great that it just about knocked Jet and the rest off thier Gears. "NOW! Let's use the turbulence to get ahead!" yelled Jet, and he forced his way into the turbulence. As he did, Jet could feel a very strong rush of wind push against him, nearly knocking him off his Gear. But eventually, he had managed to force his way into the large turbulence, as had Storm and Blitz. Back and forth they swerved in the mighty turbulence, gaining speed and momentum as they got closer to the pink giantess. Amy was actually unaware that the Rogues were tailing her, and Jet saw this as an opportunity.

"Okay, guys, listen up! When we're close enough, hit her with everything you got!" yelled Jet as he whipped out his dual fan blades.

The rest of the Rogues agreed and brought out thier weapons too. Storm of course had his fists, but Blitz on the other hand pulled out a large katana blade from a sheath on his back. As they were inching closer to Amy, Sonic, still in Amy's right hand, saw out of the gaps in her fingers what was going to happen. "Oh, no! I gotta warn Amy!" he said out loud, and with that, Sonic squeezed out from Amy's closed hand and ran up to her shoulder, trying his best to keep his balance and not fall off, for he knew it was a LONG way down. Soon Sonic arrived on Amy's right shoulder, cupped his hands over his mouth like a loudspeaker and shouted up at Amy. "AMY! Look behind you! They're about to attack!"

"Huh? Sonic, wha-" Amy said, surprised to see Sonic on her shoulder, but she was cut off when she felt a nick on her left leg. "Ouch!!" yelled Amy in some slight pain. She looked down at her leg to see that Blitz had used his katana to make a small cut in her leg (small to her anyway). There was a bit of blood leaking out of the cut, but the cut seemed to only be minor, although it did sting a lot. Soon though, she felt something else on her right leg, and it felt as if a boulder (or to her a rock) had just slammed itself into her right leg. "Aagh! What the-" Amy said and looked to see that Storm had just whacked her in the leg with both fists, causing a bruise in her leg. She then turned around to see that Jet was coming right for her, both fan blades at the ready. Amy had fire in her eyes and said, "Okay, that's IT!!! I'm through toying around with you little pests!"

Amy then had a wonderful idea...she looked back at Sonic on her shoulder and whispered to him, "You'd better hang on, Sonic!" Sonic had no idea what Amy had in mind, but grabbed onto the shoulder portion of her shirt and held on for dear life. When Amy saw that Sonic was secure, she yelled out at the Babylon Rogues again. "Hey, Rogues! Can ya catch the wind?"

Sonic then immediately knew what Amy was about to do..."Oh, boy...they're in for it now!" said Sonic with a wide smile on his face.

Jet had heard what Amy said and was trying to remember where he had heard that before. "Wait a sec...didn't Sonic say that before he..." Jet stopped talking for a moment and realized what was about to happen. "GUYS! MOVE!! GET OUTTA HER WAY!!!" screamed Jet to the Rogues, but it was too little, too late...

Amy spun her Gear in a 360 degree motion and had caused a whirlwind to form around her. The force of the wind was so powerful that Jet, Blitz, and Storm were caught completely off guard and was swept into the whirlwind and blown away. Amy then looked behind her, not seeing any signs of the Babylon Rogues anywhere. As she was still going forward, she looked a little worried and turned to look at Sonic, who was still holding on for dear life because of the whirlwind's effects. "Uhh, Sonic...?" she said, getting Sonic's attention, "You don't think I overdid it, do ya?"

Sonic turned to look behind him, seeing no signs of Jet or the rest anywhere. He then turned back to look at Amy. "Don't worry, Amy!" he said, sounding reassured, "I'm sure they're just fine. But I gotta admit, though...that was a SWEET move Amy! I couldn't do it better myself!"

Amy smiled back at Sonic. "Thanks Sonic, you're the best!" she said, and gave Sonic a wink.

Soon, Amy had crossed the finish line, winning the Extreme Sprint for her and her team. She set Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles down on the ground and motioned for them to stand back. Once they did, she got off the Massive Gear and returned to normal size, along with the Gear itself. Everyone got together for a group hug, with Amy situated in the center. She was surely the hero of the day.

"Nice work, Amy!" said Tails.

"You gotta let me try out that Gear someday!" said Knuckles.

"Awww...thanks guys!" said Amy, who started to blush, "Actually I have to thank Sonic for showing me that I can be just as good as anyone!"

"Heh...thanks!" said Sonic, rubbing the back of his head.

"So...Sonic," said Amy looking over at her blue hero, "What do you say? Since I helped you, how about..."

"NO WAY!!!" said Sonic, knowing exactly what Amy was going to ask.

"Wha?! But, even after I helped you guys, you STILL won't?!" said Amy sounding disappointed.

"I told ya Amy, it's not my style, but we can still be friends, right?" he said.

"Soooonnniiiccccc!!!" yelled Amy, who seemed to be getting very angry and annoyed.

"Uh-oh, I'm outta here!" said Sonic as he took off running.

"HEY! Get back here, Sonic!" she yelled, but then remembered her Massive Gear. Amy got a wide, coy smile on her face and hopped onto the Massive Gear, speeding off towards Sonic and soon attaining her large size. Sonic looked back to see Amy, now giant-sized, catching up to him. "Oh, crud!!" said Sonic as he started running as fast as his two hedgehog legs could go. "Come back here Sonic! You little...!" yelled Amy chasing after Sonic with an outstreched hand. It took all of Sonic's speed just to stay ahead of her, and Amy knew that he had to eventually give up.

Tails and Knuckles were standing around just laughing at the fact that even though Amy was a lot bigger than Sonic, she still couldn't catch him! But, soon, Tails stopped laughing and had a concerned look on his face. Knuckles noticed this and was worried. "What is it, Tails? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Well," started Tails, "I was just wondering where Jet and the rest of the Babylon Rogues are. They should've been back by now, even if they weren't going at full speed.

"You're right..." said Knuckles, now also concerned, "I wonder where they are...?"

Out in the desert, Jet and the rest were stranded on top of a large mesa in the middle of nowhere, and they were all very angry that they had lost to Amy. Storm was just sitting there muttering to himself that the event never happened. Wave was desperately trying to fix the team's Extreme Gear that got damaged upon the impact on the mesa, but without her tools and stuff, she was not having any luck. Blitz was sitting and meditating on what had just happened. Hmm... he thought to himself, That girl has more potential in her than I thought. I guess my greatest challenge has been finally met. I look forward to our next race, Amy.

Jet was frustrated how he, the supposedly fastest being on Extreme Gear lost not once but twice to Sonic's team, and not only that, but he lost to the novice of the group, Amy! Jet stood up and shook his fist in the air.

"You may be fastest, for now..." he said, "but I'll be back...Amy The Hedgehog!!!"

END