A world without Japanese automobiles and racing would be a world without fun or sunshine, or at least that's the way Sonic and Tails thought. Thanks to Tails' 450 IQ, his ability to make cars drive properly was unmatched worldwide. Sonic fancied himself a "ladies man," even though he only really cared about his friends and family and didn't really want any significant other in his life despite having his fair share of admirers. He was a very handsome (and some say cute) guy, after all. After Sonic shook up the street racing scene with his newly shined up, glistening red Toyota Supra Turbo, he was certain he'd stand the test of time. After all, the next major street race was going to take place only days ahead, and Sonic was ready. However, that's when rumors began to spread around which concerned Tails deeply. It was claimed that a new challenger was planning on coming to Tokyo with the intentions of dethroning Tails from the champion's seat. It was said that said challenger was a powerful and fierce opponent from the United States who had built up quite a following in the underground racing scene among his fellow Americans. He'd built up quite a following, so to speak, that he'd been able to take power in American ghettos. It was even rumored that he'd actually had some of his opponents killed when he felt that they posed too much of a threat to him or his status. However, that's all that was known at the point, and in truth, they were only mere rumors. Tails felt little real reason to worry, but somewhere in the back of his mind, the idea lingered and refused to let go of him. But that doesn't matter. What truly matters now is that with the upcoming street race, the time has come for you to grab your popcorn and find a nice and comfortable place to sit! Not that you'll spend much time sitting, of course.
The moonlight shone down on Tokyo's rooftops. The city was, as usual, bathed in a sea of neon. And speaking of neons, a particularly bright one shone from the bottom of someone's Toyota Celica GT-FOUR in the midst of at least 40 sweet-as-hell Japanese-made rides. Tails's Nissan Skyline GT-R was, as usual, the center of the meet.
"Kick their asses!" Sonic told Tails.
Tails looked over at Sonic with a confident look on his face. "You know it," he said.
That's when a blue Honda S2000 with a MUGEN bodykit and a blue neon pulled up. Its engine gave a whistle, which Tails recognized to be a powerful T66 turbocharger. A very familiar face stepped out of it. The shape of a rather attractive young female chipmunk wearing an open blue vest and a pair of blue boots came into view.
"Well, well, well," Tails said. "If it isn't Princess Sally Acorn."
"Nice car," Sally said. "It'll look lovely in my boys' rear-view mirrors."
Tails grinned. "Nobody's ever beaten me before. What makes you think you can?"
Sally rolled her eyes. "You aren't at all worried about that new guy who might be coming to challenge you?"
Tails shook his head. "Americans haven't done or achieved anything in their country's entire existence. His standards are probably lower than any of us, whoever he is."
Sally grinned. "Confidence. I admire that in a boy."
"Well, while you're busy admiring my confidence, I'm gonna go and hit the finish line."
Sally stepped in front of Tails. "You forgot about me, Tails."
Tails laughed. "Did I forget you, or are you just that slow?"
A soft "Ohhh..." rose from the crowds of onlookers.
Sally stepped towards her Honda S2000. Tails knew this was an indication that the race was going to start at any moment. Tails hopped into his Nissan Skyline GT-R and began to pull up to the starting line. The starting line was marked by two flares burning at either side of it, and Blaze The Cat stepped out of her Porsche 959 to prepare to count down.
"You daredevils ready?" she asked.
At the start were four cars: Tails' Skyline, Sally's S2000, a green Honda Integra Type-R, and a yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Blaze held her fingers in the air and began to count down from ten. The cars' revving got more and more intense as she got closer and closer to zero.
The second her hand dropped its last finger, the night was shaken by the sounds of engines being pushed to their very limit as Tails and the other racers slammed their right feet down onto their accelerator pedals. The Skyline and the S2000 showed fierce competition as the two cars battled for position. The racers swerved around the first corner and onto a four-lane road leading through a business district. With a long straight line ahead, Sally quickly moved her thumb towards the nitrous oxide activation. As her thumb clicked the button, she was thrown back into her seat as her S2000 let out a scream of pure power and adrenaline as she began to claw at Tails' rear bumper. Tails, seeing the S2000 rapidly approaching, pressed the button activating his own nitrous, and a burst of speed hit him in the face. "Have it your way, Sal!" Tails muttered under his breath. The cars turned and swerved into a hospital parking lot, driving under a skybridge and sliding out onto a side road in the hospital's shadow. The Honda Integra almost lost control and hit the wall given the sudden change of pavement quality. Sally hit her second nitrous tank and passed Tails just before the four cars drifted out onto another main road lit up by streetlights. Traffic was considerably heavier here than it was before, and Tails and Sally found themselves struggling to keep going fast while avoiding oncoming cars. "Must be a sports game in town," Sally said to herself. Suddenly, Tails passed her out of nowhere, startling her and causing her to jump. She narrowly avoided a collision with a taxi and managed to regain control of her Honda. Meanwhile, the yellow Mitsubishi Lancer hit its brakes at the wrong time and smashed into a truck head-on, leaving a fireball of debris in its wake. Tails looked into his rear-view and saw Sally remaining persistent, trying to keep up with him in desperation.
"I like a girl who's so powerful under stress...." Tails muttered.
Meanwhile, back at the car meet, Shadow The Hedgehog spoke up.
"The racers are almost here. However, before they show up, I've got a nice surprise for them."
He held up a large metallic remote that looked like it operated heavy machinery. People gathered around Shadow as he pressed the big red button on the center of it. That's when they heard the sounds of something heavy and mechanical working, and upon turning their heads, they noticed a drawbridge going upwards!
"I TOLD YOU I had a surprise," Shadow said.
As Sally and Sonic raced through the streets at full speed, they noticed that the Honda Integra had slammed on its brakes and stopped. Before they had a chance to wonder why, they saw the open drawbridge directly ahead of their cars. Tails looked down at his second nitrous button briefly before slamming his thumb down on it. The car received a burst of speed as he was thrown back in his seat, bracing for what was about to come! His car flew into the air, momentarily creating a dream-like scene for bystanders to witness.
"WOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tails could be heard shouting.
His Nissan Skyline slammed back onto the pavement unscathed, and Tails's pelvis didn't take as much of a beating as he had anticipated it to. Sally, who entered the ramp at an angle, landed poorly and lost her Honda's front bumper as a result! Sparks covered her windshield's area of vision, and she slammed on her brakes.
Tails came screeching to a halt at the finish line to cheering onlookers. He stepped out of his Nissan Skyline GT-R and began to hug Sonic, who was waiting for him in excitement.
Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last very long.
"I'M LOOKING FOR MILES PROWER!" a voice shouted.
Tails stopped hugging his brother-figure and looked to the direction where the sound came from. Everyone went silent.
A green bat with a scar on his face stood before him.
"Well, here I am," Tails said. "Who do you think you are...?"
"I'm Klash The Bat," the stranger said. "I'm the king of the underground racing scene in the United States. I heard about you, and I found that you were all that was standing in my way from becoming world champion."
Tails raised an eyebrow. "Klash.............I'll remember that name."
Klash laughed aloud in a condescending tone. "I'll give you any chance you want to forfeit. If you want, you can just go ahead and give me the title without the trouble. But I'd prefer to kick your ass myself."
Tails scowled at Klash's attitude. "What kind of junker do you drive, anyway?" Tails asked.
Klash pointed to a green and black BMW M3 GTR, which appeared very heavily modified from factory configuration. Tails could tell he was looking at a very worthy car.
Tails turned to look at Klash again. "So, you want me to race you?" he asked.
Klash leaned against his BMW smugly. "fudge yeah, I do! Same place, next week! Somebody had to put you in your place, didn't they? I mean, an eight year old shouldn't be behind the wheel of a Nissan Skyline, right?"
Tails scowled further. "This ***** is arrogant......." Tails muttered under his breath. "He's come to Japan and wiped his dirty shoes on us already.......I don't want him here."
"Fair enough," Tails said.
-TO BE CONTINUED-
