The plan Metal and I made together to have a fun date on the racetrack worked a little too well. I didn't have enough personal history with Eggman to piss him off just the right amount to accept a random race challenge, so I hoped Sonic taunting him for me would do the trick. Metal also let me know that Eggman was out of town, so that was even better.



Well...



I successfully rented out one of Dodon Pa's set of courses, and he even allowed us to race for free since he was eager about the, in his words, 'fiery spirit of competition'. Also, he just really wanted to see how we'd fare against Eggman.



Yeah, we and Eggman.



I stood in the lobby in my cute bubble-dress, as I said I would... Along with Sonic, who was extremely eager to race and coaxed (begged) me to let him come along in exchange for taunting Eggman, and Rouge, who tagged along because she thought it was hilarious we got Eggman angry enough to come back to town. Metal was just as successful; Sage ominously floated at his side, while Eggman towered over all of us.



This wasn't how I hoped our next date would go...



"Oh, this is cute," Rouge teased. "You brought your dearest daughter and your favorite pet to support you?" she said lightheartedly to Eggman, gesturing to Sage and then Metal. Metal angled his head down a little while staring at Rouge.



"Silence, thief! Don't think I don't know why you're skulking around!" Eggman snapped back. He ground his teeth. "And you, you insignificant rodent! I can't believe you'd taunt me so soon after foolishly breaking into my base! Haven't I taught you to mind your own business?!"



Sonic cocked one of his hips to the side and rubbed his nose, pretending he wasn't even listening to Eggman. "I hear a lot of talking and not a whole lot of racing, old man."



"Father, they are attempting to knock you off your 'game'. We will prove that we are the superior group," Sage said with a firm nod.



"Careful, sweetheart," Rouge replied. "Don't wanna catch an inferiority complex. I hear it's contagious." She winked over to Metal.



Metal raised his middle finger at her. Damn.



Rouge laughed. "Oh, you have more bite than I remember. I think I like him a bit more now," she said, playfully nudging me.



"O-kay! I think we've all said hi," I grimaced. "We need to figure out how we're gonna settle this. There's three of us on each side. I think we should all take turns facing off against each other; that way, it's fair. Nine races would be enough to determine a clear winner."



"We're on teams... would a cluster of team races not be apt?" Sage asked.



"And give you guys a chance to scheme something? I don't think so," I replied. Also, I just wanted at least one race with Metal alone.



Eggman pretty much growled at us. "What makes you think I care enough to do anything special here? I'll just crush you! Plain and simple!" he exclaimed.



"Amy's idea sounds the best, then. That'll let you lose to all three of us, Eggman," Sonic said with a grin.



"Hrrrnnh... Fine. Get ready for your nine total losses." Eggman stroked his moustache with one hand, then snapped his fingers a single time with the other. "Orbot! Cubot! Keep score." Two other little bots wheeled a whiteboard over to us-- oh! Metal's little brothers. They were kinda cute in a pathetic way... I could see how they wore him down over time.



The two bots made doodles of the six of us with dry erase markers, a horizontal line by each doodle. All of our representations looked really cute, except for Eggman's, which was hyper realistic and had a sharp jawline that didn't actually exist.



I hoped Metal wasn't upset with me... I thought this date idea would be different and exciting. Well, it was different and exciting, but it wasn't a date. I needed to think of a good way to make it up to him later. We could at least try to make the best of our situation and just have fun with some good ol' competition. Plus, we still got to have our race.



"So, who's going first?" Rouge asked, casually tapping one of her heels.



"Metal!" Eggman commanded. "Show them how it's done. Give them a good warm up for their defeat."



Metal stepped forward, glaring at the three of us. His stare lingered on me a bit; hopefully he was looking at my dress, hehe. His eyes flicked over to Rouge, then pointed at her. His beeps made it clear he was challenging her first.



"Aw! You didn't pick me first, buddy?" Sonic whined. "I still owe you for that last fight we had."



Metal turned his nose up at Sonic. I had to stifle my laughter.



"I think he wants to save you for last," I said, leaning over to Sonic. Metal was fairly expressive, so I didn't think he was in an awful mood, at least.



The place we were at had three connected tracks that we, for our score, considered one complete race. Like Belle mentioned before, we were out of the racing season, so no one was there except for other workers that got our vehicles ready. We all had our own cars picked out for the race; I brought my reliable pink and white car. She's been with me through the ages, and she was deceptive on the track! Too many underestimated her.



We were in an audience booth by the starting line, me and Sonic sitting together, while Sage and Eggman sat several rows behind and above us. Orbot and Cubot, still with that whiteboard, were out near the track and also had the little racing flag that would tell them when to start. The tracks were flat, simple expressions of the terrain; the road had a bunch of gray gravel, the path was bordered by multicolored blocks, and there was nothing in the way of the bright sun above. Since we couldn't see the whole race from where we were, there were big holo-screens that showed wherever they were, cameras rigged to follow them both. The tracks we decided on were just for simple, pure racing: no wacky items. The tracks would've been perfect for more casual fun. You know, like a location for a date.



I crossed my arms and ruined my own mood for a brief moment, but then Rouge and Metal wheeled out to the starting line. Rouge's car was so classy and stylish, just like her! Her car was white with bright purple and blue accents: sharp, menacing, beautiful. Metal's car was a shiny blue matching his own color, also with yellow and red accents. The headlights of his car were sharp and intense, and the design of the car itself was pointy and anti-organic in every way. It was so cool!



Rouge gave us a smooth wave, Sonic raising his hand in turn while I waved to her excitedly. Eggman was already shouting for Metal to win and peppering his encouragement with threats. Sage behaved more normally in comparison, giving a polite clap as the two entered the scene. Metal glanced to his teammates... and then he glanced at me. I grinned at him. He turned his head to focus on the road, but his eyes flicked back to me again. Cute...! I wondered if he always did stuff like that, but I only started noticing after we became a thing...



The first race was about to begin. Honestly, I felt kinda bad... I didn't really know who to root for. Of course, I wanted my team to win, but I naturally wanted to root for my boyfriend, too. Hehehe... I was so happy I could call him that.



Focus, Amy!



I had to really watch how I reacted around Metal with others around. If I could gain anything from our dating mishap, it's the skill to truly keep our secret relationship a secret. I couldn't cheer for him like I could for Sonic or Rouge... And I had to make sure to not get too excited. He managed to do this with me for years... Surely I could do it for one day!



"Kick his ass, Rouge!!!" I screamed. I love you, Metal! Do your best!



"Grind that bat into the dirt, Metal Sonic!!" shouted Eggman from behind me. He had his own cheerleaders... he'd be okay!



"Woooo! Let's go, Rouge!!" cheered Sonic too. He laughed, nudging me again. "We're all enough to make up a whole audience, huh?"



"Oh yeah," I teased back. "You're the racing nerd. Who do you think will take the first race?" I asked.



"Hmmm...~" Sonic rubbed his chin and crossed his legs. So dramatic! "Honestly, either one can," he said with a thoughtful nod. "Rouge knows how to work anyone and surprise them with her skill; she's incredibly precise and doubting her for a split second is a huge mistake. Metal is calculated and determined; he's a seasoned racer too and a really good one at that. His biggest weakness is his temper, though. Rouge could unravel him easily and the win would basically be hers, but... he seems to have it together today, if his earlier greeting to Rouge means anything."



I snorted. "Him flipping her off is 'having it together'?" I agreed with him, but I was interested in how he could read Metal. With how Sonic described him, it made me wish they could be friends. Maybe in, like, fifty years...



"Yeah, I think on a worse day he'd be stomping around and try to physically fight. He hardly paid attention to me, too. I'm interested in seeing how this goes... might be a tougher set of races today," Sonic said, grinning. "I'm excited for my turn!"



I was definitely interested to see how all of our races would turn out, too. The one between Rouge and Metal was finally starting!



"Three! Two! One! Aaannddd... Go!" Cubot waved the flag and the two cars took off down the track.



They were neck-and-neck. Rouge's car was better at taking sharp turns, but Metal was overall faster and he knew how to make up for his car's poorer handling. I saw Rouge gesture towards him, but Metal's focus was completely on the track. I think she was trying to get under his skin like what Sonic mentioned.



He was so focused. Ahh, the guilt came back... I wasn't paying attention to the camera focused on Rouge nearly as much. I sure was cheering for her, though. She's my girl, but... you know!



She managed to get ahead on one part of the track, but she took a turn badly, making Metal practically rocket ahead of her. She couldn't make up the mistake and, just like that, he crossed the finish line first. The race was over.



After Metal stopped at the finish line, he leaned back in his car. He looked very proud. I wanted to laugh. Sonic and I gave some tasteful applause, while Eggman was losing his mind behind us.



"YEAH!!! THAT'S MY BOY!" he screamed, standing on top of the bleachers and pumping his fists.



Sage giggled in my stead. "How exhilarating!"



"Take THAT, Sonic!" Eggman yelled again, pointing to Sonic.



Sonic laughed, turning back to face him. "You're not gonna say that when it's my turn. You know what? Let's go next, Egghead."



Sage gently tugged at one of Eggman's sleeves. "Actually... May I go next, Father? I would like to race."



"Anything for you, sweetie," Eggman cooed back. "Wait your turn to bow to me, Hedgehog. You will lose to Sage first."



Sonic rolled his eyes, smiling wide. "You're on. Let's do this, Sage."



Rouge gave a courteous nod to Metal; she was impressed with him. Metal turned his head up at her, but gave a little wave. I think that might've been actual sportsmanship. He really was together! After moving their cars off the track, the two of them went towards the stands while Sage and Sonic passed by them towards the track; Rouge sat beside me, while Metal sat by Eggman.



"Hey! Good race," I said to Rouge. "What were you saying to him out there?"



"That's the interesting thing. He surprised me," she said, smirking and giving a casual shrug. "He's normally so easy to read, but he didn't react how I thought this time. He didn't take any of my bait. Was a good clean race."



"Aw, Rouge, you still would've done well without trying to bait him," I said.



"Oh, of course. But where's the fun in that?" Rouge gave a sly chuckle. "I had a good time either way... And there's two more for me."



I looked behind me. Metal's gaze met with mine, and we averted our eyes at the same time. I quickly refocused on Eggman: "Don't get used to the wins... Sage is much more green than the rest of us!"



"You doubt my own daughter, you pathetic little girl?" Eggman nearly hissed at me. I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing again. Metal had his arms crossed and he was looking away. That was the first time in a while he was pretty still.



"Uh, yeah, I do," I replied to Eggman. "A database of knowledge has nothing on pure skill." I winked.



"Rrrrgh... I'm racing you next!



I giggled. "Sure!"



I glanced at Metal one more time, smiling, then turned back towards the race. Sonic and Sage were out in their own unique cars too; Sonic's was a lighter blue and even had cute little ears just like his, and Sage's was monochrome, geometric, and... honestly kinda menacing, kinda like the titan from Kronos Island. Truthfully, I thought Rouge and Metal's cars were cooler, but they were definitely fitting for their owners.



The second race started off without a hitch. For what it was worth, Sage was a fast learner. She dragged behind Sonic at first, though her driving vastly improved the further along the race they were. She caught up with him quite a few times, but ultimately... Sonic proved himself to be the fastest!



"Woo!" I heard Sonic yell as soon as he crossed the finish line, standing up from his still-rolling car. I laughed as I stood up too; I applauded for him and let out a cheerful whistle.



"Ooh, looks like Daddy's little girl lost," Rouge said while cringing to Eggman.



"Th...That's okay! You did amazing, sweetie!! You're just warming up! D-Daddy loves you!!!" Eggman screamed. I glanced back while Eggman was shouting. Metal rolled his eyes, though his behavior went totally unnoticed by the doting dad beside him.



Sonic and Sage did a courteous handshake with one another, then left the track after clearing out for the next race. Eggman took his time cooing at Sage some more before he got in his car, meanwhile I high-fived Sonic while passing by.



Eggman's car was a lame red one that looked a lot like the floating ball he'd ride in all the time. Mine, on the other hand, was super cute, light, and deadly. From the track, I waved eagerly over to Sonic and Rouge. They both waved back.



"Show him what you're made of!" Sonic shouted.



"Go, Father!!" cheered Sage. Metal still had his arms crossed, but his gaze was totally on me.



Well... Here goes!



Cubot counted down and waved the flag, then we took off. Similar to Rouge, my car was pretty good with handling. I tried to take advantage of what I could by sticking close to the tight curves. I was ahead of Eggman a lot of the time, but his car was much bigger and could knock me around if he passed me by.



I tried to keep my sights on him and take my turns carefully. So far, so good.



He burst ahead of me on one stretch of road, but I quickly made up the distance on the next winding paths, then surprised him near the final stretch. It was pretty close!



"You... wretched... Aaaagh!" I heard him yell from behind me. Heh--



"Hey!" I screamed. Right at the finish line, he roughly rammed my car with his and got ahead right at the second. I spun out past the finish line and had to quickly correct myself. I was okay, but I was pissed. "Unsurprising and dirty, Eggman!" I growled.



"Sorry, can't hear losers," he said in such a snotty tone. Was he five years old?



"Booooo!" shouted Rouge and Sonic together, Sonic openly pointing his thumbs down. I couldn't stay mad after seeing their support.



Eggman stayed on the track, praising himself and kissing his hand, flicking the 'kiss' into the air. "Your displeasure fuels me, rodents!"



Rouge and I switched places while he was preoccupied. Passing Rouge, she whispered to me: "Don't worry, honey. Eggman has no surprises today, I can assure you."



I trusted Rouge would totally wreck him, and with a smirk, I returned to the stands.



"You okay, Ames?" Sonic asked when I sat back down.



"Yeah, just annoyed," I huffed. "Let him keep his lame win. You and Rouge just have to destroy him for me!"



"Oh, we are on it." Sonic smiled at me, clutched my shoulder, and brought me in to an energetic side-hug. "You did amazing out there."



Metal suddenly sat beside me. I stared with wide eyes, surprised. He also dragged Sage with him, so the four of us were on the same row. He leaned forward to glare at Sonic.



"You're right, Metal Sonic... This is a better vantage point," Sage muttered, nodding to herself.



Sonic let go of me and leaned in to match Metal's stare. "You raced fairly with Rouge, so I don't expect you to do to pull any nasty tricks like your creator, Metal."



Sage leaned in too. Everyone was so close to me! I was the only one sitting normally!! "There is nothing about bumping each other with our cars in the rules we all agreed to," she said with her chin lifted. "Father won, and Amy lost. This is the predictable outcome."



"Uh, there's bumping and there's what Eggman did," Sonic said with a raised brow.



"It's fine! Let's focus on the race," I sighed. My face was getting red and I didn't really know what to do with myself. Everyone eventually leaned back, but Metal and Sage were still seated beside me. I saw Metal glance at me without moving his head, his focus on my shoulders... I realized he was making sure Sonic stopped touching me.



Haha, wow. That was why he moved... Man, I needed to talk to him about that. At least he had enough self-control to not start a fight. But... I was still happy he chose to sit beside me.



The next races were amazing and intense. Rouge kicked Eggman's ass, knowing his intentions and tricks, giving us another point! Sage and I raced next, and my skill outpaced hers all the way to the finish line; even better, Metal was watching me the whole time. After that, Sonic and Eggman faced off, and Sonic took it home while Eggman whined like a pathetic man-baby. Rouge and Sage were up; Sage caught up to all the strategies and managed to get a win out from Rouge.



With seven out of nine races done, our team had four points, while Eggman's team had three.



Eggman was hollering excitedly at the bleachers. Because Metal moved beside us before, Eggman sat just a few feet away and it was so annoying.



"THAT'S MY BABY GIRL! You showed that mean bat what for!!!" he yelled. Did anyone remind him this was just a race? We weren't even like, betting for money. It was all bragging rights.



"We're still winning," Sonic pointed out with a grin.



"Not for long! Naturally, I saved the fastest racer for last. They're in a false sense of security, Metal. You'll teach them how big of a mistake that is," Eggman said, slapping Metal on the back to get him to jump out of his seat. "Which one of you dares to take him on?!"



I locked gazes with Metal again, blushing a little. "I don't care who you pick! You'll lose either way," I huffed, turning my head away.



"Ugh, I've been dying to race! I know you are too, Metal. C'mon." Sonic clasped his hands together, practically begging to be picked. Hah! Honestly, I thought those two would want to race last since they had their whole... you know, intense life or death rivalry.



Metal stepped ahead of me, then shoved Sonic to walk down the bleachers. We'd have our race last! I kinda hoped that'd be the case...



"Haha! Yesss!" Sonic eagerly sped down the stairs, causing Metal to fly after him.



When those two were in their cars, they stared intensely at each other. Sonic was incredibly joyful, while Metal was incredibly focused. At the last moment, though, Metal turned his head fully towards me. Th-that was... bolder than I expected!



"Girl, I think he's looking at you," Rouge said quietly to me with wide eyes.



"What? Nah... Eggman and Sage are right here," I replied.



"You're so cute in that dress that you're messing with Eggman's robots just by sitting here. Look at you," she teased, bumping my shoulder with hers. I nudged back, grinning. Rouge was just playing, so I really couldn't overact or underact here.



"I do have a weird history with Egg robots," I giggled. Understatement of the century, basically.



"Hey, handsome!" Rouge called. I thought she was talking about Metal for a second, but then Sonic turned his head and leaned against the car door. Oops. "Show him who the real Sonic is!"



Sonic replied by throwing her some finger guns. He was such a dork!



"Destroy that rat!!! Do you hear me?!" screamed Eggman.



Metal turned his head back towards the track and gripped the steering wheel of his car. Sonic eventually did the same, the grin vanishing as he listened closely for Cubot's countdown.



Race time. I had even more trouble on who to root for this time... Would winning or losing be better for Metal? I didn't know. I mean, I couldn't root for him out loud either way, but...



The flag waved and the two took off. Both of them were incredibly locked in, head-to-head the entire time. They bumped each other as they took turns the exact same way. Sonic went back to grinning, and from the camera view, it looked like he was saying something to Metal, too. Metal didn't so much as flick his eyes on Sonic's direction; he was there to race, no matter what.



Neither of them made any mistakes and their cars were practically extensions of their bodies. Honestly, it was amazing watching them. I was totally captivated. I had an epiphany that, no matter who won, they both absolutely killed it out there. All four of us were cheering loudly. They didn't have to know I was cheering for both racers!



On the very final turn, Metal took a tighter turn successfully, but Sonic was right there. I'm not sure if he actually got it since it was so close!! That had to be a photo finish!



As soon as they stopped, Sonic and Metal scrambled up to the whiteboard to see who won. Orbot rewound the footage of the race, and on the large screens, the very last moment was paused for us to see.



Metal got it!



"YES!" screamed Eggman.



Metal was the most expressive he'd been all day. He jumped up to the top of his car and shook both his fists in the air, throwing his head back at the same time. Sonic shook his head a little towards himself, but it was very brief; he went back to his cool demeanor and passed a smirk to Metal. He said something to him, and then Metal pointed at Sonic to yell back at him. Metal pointed at me all the time whenever making random declarations and it was so funny to see him do it at someone else from a distance.



Sonic strolled back to us, while Metal turned his attention towards me. He pointed at me this time! I had to keep my cool...



"Knock him down a peg," Rouge said with a wink. "I'm getting a little tired of my ears ringing due to a certain member of the audience."



I giggled. "You got it."



Our teams were tied, so the final race would decide the true victor. I pulled up with my car and grinned at Metal, facing away from the others. I didn't want to say anything too crazy, though I at least knew we were harder to hear from the stands.



"This is it," I said to him. "Are you sure you can win?"



He mirrored my pose, squinting at me.



"Let's make our own bet. Loser has to do one thing the Winner says." I repeated our silly wager from our first Little Planet date.



He beeped an affirmative and aggressively pointed at me. I tried to calm down my grin as I turned my focus back to the road. Get it together, Amy. I steeled myself again, took a deep breath, and fully locked myself in. I fully expected Metal to do the same.



The final countdown.



"Get us another win, Big Bro!!" called Cubot. "Three! Two! One! Aaaand... Go!" He waved the flag and we both took off.



When I caught Metal in my sights, he looked serious. Good! He sped in front of me, trying to take the tighter curves before I could, since that would be my greatest advantage. His strategy worked a few times, but my car was small and easy to maneuver, so I could still squeeze between him and the turf on most turns as long as I was precise.



This was the most intense race I ever had. Sometimes I was ahead, sometimes Metal was ahead... each part of the track played to either one of our strengths. I felt such an adrenaline rush! My heart was pounding so fast and I was as excited as I was focused. I really wanted to win, but I was also so happy to race him.



I found myself laughing as I raced. I enjoyed the rushing wind and the unique dance our cars made as we fought for who would get to the finish line first.



The final turn was coming up. I took the curve as tightly as I could, but Metal was right on me. Our cars lightly bumped, and we both revved our engines to go as fast we could towards the finish line --



We passed it! That was too close. I couldn't tell which one of us won that one, either.



I stopped the car and had to take a minute to catch my breath. I didn't even run, but I felt like all my energy got sapped out of me. Whew!



Both Metal and I got out of our cars and we went to the whiteboard, like what he and Sonic did before. Orbot played back the race again...



...



Orbot mumbled, drawing a line by my face on the board. I won!



Sonic and Rouge screamed excitedly from the stands. I screamed too, raising my arms in the air and dancing in a little circle. I really wanted to lunge at Metal, but right as I got the urge, I remembered everyone around us. I'd get him later.



"Sonic's team wins the competition!" Cubot called to everyone. "The races are over..."



I clapped to myself eagerly. "That was insane!" I beamed. "Great race, Metal."



I could tell he really wanted to move, too. I wasn't sure whether he was angry or what, but he gave me a single nod, another show of surprising sportsmanship. I ran up to the bleachers to hug Rouge and Sonic while we all cheered together. Metal followed behind me to rejoin his own team.



"You managed to beat Sonic but you can't handle a pink hedgehog in a convertible?!" shouted Eggman. "I should have the right mind to reformat you entirely! What a waste of space," he sneered.



Whoa. Eggman didn't say anything like that when Sage lost, and she lost twice. Metal's energy wasn't there; he just stood there while Eggman berated him, his eyes angled down. It filled me with a kind of anger I hadn't experienced in a long time.



Impulse got ahead of me, as it often did.



"Hey. That was a really close race. The only one being a waste of space here is you," I growled to Eggman. "Metal actually raced me instead of try to wreck my car. That's why Sonic and Rouge beat you so easily, by the way, because it's easy to work around your dumb schemes."



"Mind your own business if you know what's good for you, brat," Eggman replied in a low, menacing tone. "Go celebrate your insignificant victory before I celebrate wiping your pitiful little town off the map."



What a sore loser. I wanted to say more, but I knew it wouldn't do anything. I walked away before it turned into any kind of fight. Sonic and Rouge gave me both concerned glances. "Eggman really gets to me sometimes. It's fine," I sighed. "We won, so let's go do something else fun."



No one viewed my outburst as anything suspicious, and they thought I was more bothered by Eggman not seeing me as a worthy opponent. Objectively, Metal played well, but Eggman was so absorbed in his own self-obsessed world that anything less than perfect was a total disaster. So miserable. I couldn't help but imagine all of those scenarios we didn't see. No one deserved to be treated like that.



I tried to dispel my worries when having some food with Rouge and Sonic. We parted on friendly terms, and then I went on a more personal drive to get some fresh air before finally going home.



I didn't want to think of this day as a total negative... I looked cute, got to cheer for my friends, saw that scumbag doctor get humiliated, and witnessed Metal grab a victory from Sonic in both a satisfying and harmless way. Today was genuinely fun, even though it wasn't a date date.



I finally went to bed and passed out pretty much as soon as my head hit my pillows.