Scene #7134: Everybody's Super (Metal) Sonic Racing

Owner	Pose
Metal Sonic	There's a call for a race. But outside of the fact that it's being issued by someone named 'Metal Sonic' who claims to be the 'fastest' and 'coolest', there isn't that much information. There's not even a listed prize, so really, it'd kind of a horrible race all things considered unless you're the type of person who's just looking for bragging rights. Forgetting about awfully planned this entire race is, the area the contestants arrive to has clearly seen better days. It's a weird mix between a factory and a fortress. There's large amounts of dust building up on the various machines, and the green paint on the walls seems to be peeling from neglect, but overall, everything seems to be running if the low metallic thrumming is any indication. And then there's Metal Sonic, impatiently waiting by a control panel and a shuttered door, the sound of their foot tapping filling the base as they count the seconds. A small, blue, mechanical...Hedgehog? Is that what hedgehogs look like? According to someone, yes.
Arcadia	Race? Challenge? Bragging rights? Who said there needs to be a prize. That's already three big checks under the 'Daredevil' archtype. A few whisps of dust whirl around from the blowback as Arcadia lowers herself to the ground. The sphinx's wings fold to her back as she takes a look around. She could almost mistake this for one of the more urban wasteland areas of the Line. "I take it this place hasn't been used a lot until recently."
Sarracenia	A race! Sarracenia always enjoys those and even actually finished the last death race in which she participated. Of course, she blew up one of her best friends in the process, but hey...you join a death race you accept that possibility. The flagship of the Sundew Sovereign Navy carries the princess to the starting area, but once she sees it she is frowning a bit. "What sort of person hosts a race in such a decrepit, derelict place?" she says as she steps off the airship, probably easily heard by anyone nearby thanks to her rather piercing voice. She directs the piranha plant soldiers to unload her personal racing vehicle - a shiny red car that looks very much like a Bullet Bill, complete with shark-face decals - then motions about. "Make this place look presentable, immediately! If Princess Sarracenia Sundew, Crown Princess of the Sundew Kingdom, is to race here then we need a proper venue!" The airship takes off again and starts moving about deploying teams of piranha plants and loads of building materials to different points around the factory. Soon, the sounds of clanging and torching and grumbling can be heard as metal panels are used to fill in gaps, new paint is applied, and the cosmetic appearance of the area generally turned more appealing. It might take a while for them to get to the entire area given its size, but the starting area is focused on first. And naturally the biggest surface gains a sprawling mural of the princess herself in her racing outfit, a tight fitting red leather racer's jumpsuit. Finally she approaches Metal Sonic and those near him. "So! What is this I hear about a race? I was growing quite bored, so I look forward to some excitement!"
Charlemagne	When one thinks of racing they might think someone would choose to go with something small, compact, and fast. To use such things in a race was just obvious for the most obvious of reasons. And yet someone had done the opposite. They had given no warning to their arrival to the host of this event or even to the other contestants. The only heads up that those who had decided to appear to this race get is well... A shadow begins to fall over the contestants, like a cloud had blocked out the sun for a moment, and yet no such thing should have been possible within the confines of the factory. In fact, what appears before them shouldn't really make much sense either. Within the walls of the factory a structure slowly descends upon the race track without ever touching the ground. One glance up and it's appearence gives off the feeling that rather than something that should be used in a race, it's something that could be considered more of a floating island. If any of the contestants weren't completely under this oddity of a racing choice perhaps they could see what lay atop this floating enigma. Upon this landscape is housed what appeared to be some sort of medieval castle, no just saying it was a fortress alone was inappropriate. It was as if someone had taken their plot of land including their front yard consisting of a large fountain, servant house, gardens, and the front gate entrance and decided to just stick the whole damn estate atop of some sort of flying mechanism. The whole place was just so grandiose in such a factory setting that it screamed the aesthetic of a certain Elite who just simply didn't know what overkill was. "Oooooooh?! This place is so huge! I've seen a few factories so far but this place is above and beyond! How cool~! I gotta wonder what they even make in a place like this!" From atop this aerial anomaly that feels like it's taking up all the horizontal space of the racing area comes the voice of a youth who stands at the front gates of this fortress. A young man crosses his arms his chest as he looks down upon the area. A charismatic smile that adorned his face from ear to ear, with baby blue eyes that looked at the factory in question as if it were even more astonishing than that of the castle he was literally using to try and race with. His black hair, with just a tint of what would have been considered a distinguished white flows gently as he stands upon the airborne craft. His knightly garb of blue and white adorn his figure in colors of a bright blue sky with gentle clouds up above. Frankly, his whole demeanor and attire made him look like the kind of knight in shining armor that you'd find in fairy tales that would sweep a damsel in distress off her feet. And with that eager and excited voice he looks around once again, his cool presence washed over somewhat with a bit of confusion... "....Oooooooooi?! This is the place for that 'fast' and 'cool' race, right?! ...Am I early or something?" It was apparent he couldn't really see the rest of contestants who might have been parked /under/ his 'vehicle'.
Metal Sonic	"It was abandoned shortly after one of Doctor Eggman's failures. It's long since been outdated, but it serves its purpose well enough." The LED pupils on Metal Sonic's visor squint at Sarracenia's arrival, particularly when they have their goons start sprucing up the place, as well as the overly eager French boy, before deciding to just turn around and mess around with the console behind them. Sure, he could answer them, but in this instance actions probably speak louder than words. They also probably understand that better too, if his initial impressions are to be believed There's various button and slider pushes, and most curiously the opening of a hidden compartment near the base. Eagle eye viewers would see the metal hedgehog remove what is clearly a cassette tape, which they promptly load into the console itself, before pushing one final button. The speakers littered throughout the entire base begin blasting music. There's a rap track behind all of it, and those familiar with Eggman might actually realize that it's actually him doing it. Though he clearly sounds just a tad younger than he currently does. More importantly, the door the large shuttered door next to them opens, revealing a large stretch of metallic race track. Also probably just as importantly, a massive wall pops out from the ground behind the group, covered in electrified spikes. "The race starts now. Try to keep up. Loser forfeits their life." They don't bother to explain what the wall is for. It should really be obvious. Instead, they jut rush forward onto the track, their engine revved as they cruise at a moderate speed waiting for the others to catch up.
Arcadia	Arcadia can't really comment on the medium. She knows a few corners of the Technocracy that still use tapes and discs because they can't yet afford crystalline recording devices. The thudding of walls into place gets her to glance back, watching the spikes deploy and electrify. "Ooooh~ You didn't say this was going to be a death race!" She sounds way too -excitedly positive- about this. She briefly crouches down like a runner would at the starting line, wings flaring back open. Thrusters fire up, causing some heat distortion in the air behind her as she does that little bum waggle cats do before taking off. ZHOOOM! Arcadia is actually staying close to the ground for the moment, though she is hovering instead of running or anything like that. The angle her wings are spread at functions much like the spoiler would on a race car to aid stability.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia also doesn't comment on the medium. She has been in the multiverse long enough to see several. But...the castle on the floating island does draw a comment. "...are you going to race using that island?!" she calls out to the unseen individual atop it. She shakes her head and hops in her racer before blinking as that wall emerges. "Ooooh~ So, this is -that- sort of race~" She also seems rather excited about it, though perhaps not as much as Arcadia. "I will certainly not be forfeiting anything, much less my life!" she says as she revs the engine. A rocket ignites in the back of her car and she takes off after Arcadia and Metal Sonic. "Do not think you can outrun me so easily!" As she goes, she looks up at the floating island. "If you need a vehicle of proper proportions, I am sure one of my navy's fighter craft could accomidate you!" she calls out to Charlemagne. Then she looks to Arcadia and Metal Sonic again. "Wait...am I the -only- one using a proper vehicle?! What is wrong with you people?!"
Charlemagne	If anyone had a bird's eye view from where they were it'd have been the young man atop his castle. He looks a bit curiously at the hedgehog...Robot...Blue thing that makes him raise his eyebrow a little? Before he can even question what the odd robotic monstrosity was doing the sound of blasting music fills the noble's ears and leaves him somewhat...Baffled. Clearly Eggman's sick mix-tape was something that just seemed foreign to the noble in question, a hand going under his chin in quandary. "MMmmm, is this what the kids are into nowadays?" At least he seemed into it enough to try and tap his foot to the beat, Though seeing no one else doing any tapping he finds himself stopping after a little while. It could have just been cause everyone else was clearly trying to race but...Why take the chance? As the music settles in the large door opens to reveal the track and the blue contraption tells the group it was time to race. Also something else... "Eeeeeeh?! What was that now about losing?! I couldn't hear you from up here over the music!!!" Before he can even answer though there's one of the contestants that's already heading off. The knight watches from above as the would-be-angel thrusts past the starting line, the way Arcadia fores a 'Whoa' from the man's lips. "That's so cool! How do they even do that?!" It was like he was a kid in a candy shop seeing all the treats the way he responded to everything. Even Sarra's rocket car gets a thumbs up as he hears her ever so kind proposition. "It's cool!" The man shouts, "If I needed one I'd, ah...Wait, she's still going without waiting for a response...Wait...Am I last?" Getting so awe-struck he realizes he really has been the last to leave the starting line! So with that in mind, the flying estate starts taking off onto the track. It's form as it lets off gives as much speed as you'd imagine just a flying fortress of the size would do, but it does look good doing it at least...
Metal Sonic	The participants come out on the track, and on account of them not putting in much effort, seem to catch up rather quickly. Though the mechanical blue blur seems to step it up so that they're always just slightly ahead no matter what. There's a brief wait from Metal Sonic as he waits for them to do /something/ else. But it's clear they aren't getting the idea behind what a 'death race is'. So like a good host, they're about to show them what it means. They intentionally slam their own breaks, letting themselves fall into last place, and nearly letting themselves slam into the gigantic spike wall that was currently following them, before suddenly kicking it to full gear once more. The process of doing this creates a loud, deafening explosion with enough force to rock everyone on the track, as they catapult themselves back to first place.
Charlemagne	The youth upon the floating castle watches as one of the contestants starts slowing down. "Mmmm?" It was curious to see the one that was going all the way ahead just putting on the brakes. "Wait...Is this guy trying to show off?!?!" That wasn't cool at all! It was like as if he was getting double-lapped or something. Something that wouldn't really be possible with the giant spiked wall beyond them. Yet, the metal hedgehog's little endeavor rocks the boat...Or well castle. The sonic boom that occurs finds itself potent enough to even disrupt something as large as his flying isle. It's enough to cause it to shake and even slow down a bit, and even as it does Charlie does his best to keep himself from looking like he's about to fall over. He had to stay presentable after all. "Oh, I see races have really changed too, huh...Well guess if that's the case..." The young man raises his blade, a serrated sword begins to shine with a radiance so spectacular that it honestly felt as though sunshine was blasting from behind the contestants where the floating isle was. From that glowing blade, twelve floating Javelins would appear all spreading out single-file side-by-side with the youth before he point his blade at the metal entity that had blasted back to first place. "Alright, let's return the favor!" Two of those javelins depart from the isle, flying through the air. They dart past the other two contestants as they reach for the one who had decided to perform foul play before slowly spinning around the odd creature in circles, orbiting him. As they continue to circle it, the creature would realize another source of light was beginning to build up at the tip of these Javelins and from there...Two beams would burst out aiming solely for the front-runner!
Arcadia	In her defense Arcadia saw the electrified spike wall and assumed this was death race in the sense of outrunning the killer wall and obstacles and such. And focused on staying ahead of that. And going fast. As use to going fast as she is Arcadia doesn't even notice Metal's lagging behind is on purpose, until he rockets forward again. "Oh sh--" She realizes too late what he's really doing, and the sonic boom knocks her sideways into a wall of the complex, sparks flying as she grinds against it. It leaves as much of a mark in the wall as it does the sphinx before she pushes away from it. "You should of been more specific!" she retorts after the accelerating hedgerohog, though it's not really a complaint persay. To Arcadia's credit it doesn't take her long to get back up to pace with a little extra thruster burn, leaving trails of vaporized aether in her wake. "But if that's the way you want to play it..." Ruinic rings spin glowing circles around her arm, and then she conjures something akin to a wheel made of lightning and launchs it after Metal.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia blinks as Metal Sonic suddenly slams on his breaks. She laughs as she passes him. "Did you lose your ne-EEK!" He races past them again, creating that sonic boom and sending her car skidding about the track and causing a few panels to fall off of it. But, she manages to avoid getting skewered by an electrified spike wall and tries to catch up to Metal Sonic. "Forgive me, I was not aware the aggressive part of the race had already started!" she says with a grin before pushing a button on her car's dashboard. A large cannon deploys from the either size of the car and with a 'ka-thunk' two person sized bullets with the same shark face as her car can be seen sliding into place. "Let us see how you like my Bullet Bills!" she exclaims before firing. With a rumbling 'Ba-koom!' they fire, sending the massive ordinance screaming out toward Metal Sonic, attempting to track his movements and unleash their explosive payload upon him!
Metal Sonic	They participants finally seem to be getting the idea behind what this race was intended to be as Charlie throws out some javelins in retaliation. There's a loud, mechanical whirl as Metal Sonic hover jumps over them, bending their legs back to touch their head as they hold on to them merely to style as they soar harmlessly past. It's too easy. Unfortunately, though probably not intended, Charlie's miss and Metal Sonic's need to flex opens up a chance for both Arcadia and Sarracenia to take advantage. The Bullet Bill, despite their best efforts to avoid getting hit otherwise, manages to graze them, causing them to spin out and fall back as their also smacked with a ring of electricity. Lesser badniks would have taken seconds to get up, but Metal Sonic is back up and in front of the group, this time turned around to face them as they fire a concentrated laser beam from their chest and in front of their path rather than directly at them, mainly to get them to trip up. God knows it'd be easier to just shoot them though.
Sarracenia	The laser beam cuts a furrow into her path, and Sarracenia yelps as her car goes nose-first into it. It impacts and goes end over end across the track before landing back on its wheels, the nose crumpled and the engine smoking a bit. "You will have to do better than that if you wish to knock Princess Sarracenia out of the running!" she calls out as she fights to get her car back under control. Finally, she is going straight again. "Okay! How about...this!" she calls out, and the cannons fire again. But this time instead of Bills a pair of cute little black orbs with big yellow boots and big black eyes go flying out toward Metal Sonic. Bob-ombs! They explode violently but compactly upon impacting either Metal Sonic or the ground near him.
Charlemagne	The javelins miss their mark, but their attack lead to an opening for the other two contestants at least. Letting the odd bullets to really start messing with the odd little creature or mechanation's balance. Though it seems to pick itself up rather quickly to the point that it's able to retaliate. A laser beam of it's own fires and with such a large target it only makes sense that such a large target would get hit. So once again fumbling and stability get distorted on the flying castle, enough where the young knight almost bends a knee. Almost. "Man...Gotta step this up or else I'm gonna look the fool here... Alright. Let's up the fire power a bit!" The youth raises his blade over his head and several more of his javelins traverse the race-track almost seeming more appropriate for it than the oversized castle as they dart past Arcadia and Sarracenia with grace. Metal Sonic would of course see has four more of those Javelins would join the two from before. Each one preparing to accumulate energy at their tips. Though unlike before they start to stagger their shots releasing beams of energy in intervals forcing the would be hedgehog to hopefully take him just a bit more seriously.
Arcadia	Arcadia was staying close to the ground to keep the race 'fair' to the other competators. But when Metal turns to sweep his big laser down the track she quickly abandons that notion. The sphinx jukes upward and spirals, rising up and over the beam as it sheers across the lane. Well, this isn't a completely enclosed space, but there's enough infrastructure around them it should still work. Arcadia restablizes herself and dives back onto the track, fiery sparks crackling from the crystalline foci in her forearms. "Nitro Chasers!" Several fire orbs are launched onto the track, bouncing off the walls like high speed super bouncy balls made of flame in pursuit of the robotic hedgehog. They're not impossible to dodge... The trick is dodging once might not be enough as they keep rebounding off the other surfaces of the factory!
Metal Sonic	The team attacks more in unison, whatever that means. Regardless, there's too much stuff being thrown to successfully dodge with any amount of style, so instead, Metal Sonic opts to defend. They bring their arms in front of them, creating an electrical shield around them as the projectiles slam against them, deflecting off relatively harmlessly. The relativeness being that however the shield operates, it isn't perfect. Sparks fly from the inhuman erinaceinae as the proceed to slow down significantly, falling into last place against their own will. The shield eventually drops, and there's a brief moment of shakiness as their systems recover, before they proceed to roll themselves up into a ball and launch themselves back into the number one spot, richoceting themselves off of the racers as they do so in an attempt to actually throw them off the track.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia eeps in surprise as those javelins come zipping past her, and yelps as those flaming bouncy balls go bouncing by somehow without hitting her. Which brings up an interesting point in her mind. Shouldn't they be firing at each other in addition to this metal hedgehog? She shrugs that thought off for now...or well actually it gets knocked out of her head when Metal Sonic comes pinballing through. He hits her racer hard, sending her skidding toward the side of the track and finally flipping over a few times before the racer once again comes to rest on its wheels somehow. Only now there is a large dent in its side the size of a hedgehog. "Hey! Watch where you are bouncing!" she calls out to the others before growling a bit. She hits another button on her dashboard, and a slot on the top of her car opens...before a cannon unfolds that is much larger than a car of its size has any right to be carrying. It looks like the car itself could fit inside the cannon! There is once again a large 'ka-thunk' as a shark-faced round that rivals the racing car in size slides into place. "Alright, enough of the small fireworks! Time to let you see the power of the Bonzai Bill!" The cannon fires with a resounding blast, and the Bonzai Bill rockets toward Metal Sonic. When it finally hits something, the casing explodes and showers the area in shrapnel. Then a steadily building series of blasts follows the hedgehog along the track before finally a final stronger blast leaves a mushroom cloud in its wake. And then Sarracenia has to do some evasive driving to avoid any craters her own weapon made!
Charlemagne	Finally finding some of a rhythm as Eggman's fire mixtape gets everyone in synch their attacks start seeing some results. Though it's apparent that this speedster was still way ahead of the curve. Maybe it was homefield advantage...Actually does homefield advantage apply when you literally bring your home with you to a fight? Hard to say... Even getting the mechanical rodent down to last place, practically nearing him towards the spiked wall, he speeds back again beyond everyone just as quickly, forcing a whistle, "Man, for all that armor he's really speeding through thi- AH?!" Just as he compliments the guy he feels the castle's lower section getting attacked again by Metal Sonic as he goes into ball mode and begins trying to sink this flying castle as if it were trying to put the place under siege. Though retaliation is quick. As soon as Metal tries to return to its place at the front of the pack, the six javelins from before are already there waiting for it, their beams already charging up attempting to fire at him all over again...Though at the same time it'd be noted that there were another six at his back...Also taking aim. He was about to get laser beam sandwiched as the beams fire off at different intervals once again each one firing from a different angle seeing how the machination would respond to such an attack this time.
Arcadia	The robot isn't the only one with shields of some kind. As Metal finds out when he hurtles at Arcadia like a jet powered buzzsaw. Aetheral sparks fly as he grinds against some manner of arcane field projected by her armor. Unfortunately the defense wards are meant more to deflect attacks than withstand direct physical assaults, and it doesn't take long for the spindash to break through it, and the recoil of the shield failing sending the pair in opposite directions. Bits and shards of crystal clatter about the racetrack as one of the magitek conduits shatter from the feedback. It's enough that Arcadia actually pauses a moment to glance down at the smoking whisps trailing off her side. "Damn." Those subsystems are made out of the finest materials the Line has to offer, they don't just -break- easily. A testament to how much force Metal Sonic can put into an impact. "When the Doctor said you're his finest creation he wasn't kidding." But back to the race. At least her visor, being made to deal with tremendous speeds, gives her some better chance at keeping tabs on the robotic hedgehog. As she's jetting along to catch up she shifts through her inventory, eventually pulling out a device that unfolds into a piece of magitek weaponry. One of the few that isn't incorperated directly into herself. The front end splits in half, forming a pair of charging arrays. Energy hisses and crackles between them as she takes aim, "I wasn't going to use this for a race.. But if you're not holding back neither am I!" and then fires. It's apparently some manner of magic railgun. Except both the launch arrays and the shell itself are laced with hyperglass, resulting in an even greater hypervelocity projectile and potential kinetic impact.
Metal Sonic	Between the missile massacre, the lasers, and the railgun, Metal Sonic isn't looking too good. They once again spin out on the race track, this time actually rebounding off the electrified spiked metal wall that's been chasing them the entire time, before pulling themselves back up. Thankfully, the spikes don't seem to be lethal, as it's not that kind of series. But between the swathes of missing blue paint and the smoking engine, it still looks like it hurt. As a testament to Doctor Eggman's genius work however, they still function, more than enough to throw themselves back into the race. They disappear in a blur, appearing behind Sarracenia and Arcadia, barely a second apart. They get the same response, a double handed bash to their body (or in Sarra's case, her vehicle), followed by another powerful chest laser. Rather than being extremely dickish like his past few attacks, these ones seem extremely malevolent and spiteful. Charlie, in the meanwhile, gets greeted by Metal Sonic shortly after. The robot doppleganger drops an autographed piece of paper for them, before promptly roundhouse kicking them in the face. After that, it's back to being first. Because that's how chase bosses work.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia laughs even as she dodges the road damage left by her own weapon. "Now you know you should not underestimate me just because I am a princess!" she calls out at where she thinks Metal Sonic is...only to blink as she realizes he is RIGHT BEHIND HER! She yelps as her car gets smashed by his powerful fists before letting out a shriek as she and it are both blasted by that powerful laser beam. When the glare and smoke clear, her racing car looks like it is barely running and her racing outfit is somewhat tattered. Not to mention her hair being completely frizzed out thanks to the heat of the laser blast! "Ugh! Look what you did to my hair! You'll pay for that!" Unsure just how long she will be able to keep her car going, she deploys another Bonzai Bill. This one doesn't look quite as big, but when it reaches its target it explodes in a similar way.
Arcadia	Super speed against super speed is a strange combination. Though lets be entirely honest here. Metal Sonic is very much faster than Arcadia when it comes to velocity. He's an embodiment of the concept that she just utilizes very well. But as someone who has lived and fought her entire existance on The Line, the one thing that embodies speed as much as the hedgehogs do, the sphinx has experience to spare in battle under these conditions. Metal appears behind her and swings, only to find the sphinx twisting midair to catch his hammerblow. And then flip herself over his head in an flashy high speed somersault to avoid the chest laser that follows the attack. She rolls midair a few times before spreading her wings and realigning back on the death race. Thrusters flare one she's stabilized herself and she's blazing back into the race and the fight. Metal Sonic doesn't have to pause long to do his attacks, but split-seconds is all Arcadia needs. She surges in close, and shows that she too can use speed for more than flying rediculously fast as she unleashes a frenzy of slashing swipes with her claws, then whips around at the end to top it off with a kick that still counts as slicing because her feet do still have claws as well.
Charlemagne	The attacks continue to pile up like a car pile-up...Sort of, and it looks like they were starting to make progress. Though truth be told, the young white knight looks a little...Drained? Yeah that's probably the correct word. He hasn't really moved much from his spot but the look on his face showed that there was a bit of fatigue to him, as if some sort of mental fortitude was being wittled away. He finds himself mumbling softly, "Mmmm, guess without a proper Master it's still a bit rough..." As he mumbles though his attention gets brought back to the race as he sees the blue blur go from one contestant on the ground, to the next, and then...Starts trying to shoot up towards...Him?! There's a smile on his face as he readies his blade thinking he's about to take a canon ball to the face. Instead though...As soon as the creature lands, it...Drops a sheet of paper? Was that suppose to be a joke? Being the curious guy this prince was he reads the note aloud, "Metal...Sonic? What's that suppose to mean exact-" CLINK!!! A roundhouse comes for the night but he averts the metal leg with his serrated blade as his body gets knocked back towards the fountain. "Hey! Is this a race or a-" Before he can even finish he finds the blue anomaly already running off again. The youth finds himself shaking his head. "Seriously, it's so uncool to leave in the middle of someone talking! Alright you asked for it! I'm gonna be so exhausted after this but there's no way I'm gonna end on such a lame note!" He grips the paper before clinging to the blade with both hands as he brings it behind him. Slowly but surely, light begins to dwell within that serrated sword. Pure beautiful light as though it came from the sun itself begins to linger in that blade. What this man intended to do would likely drain any capability of continue fighting, but at the very least he figured he needed to show that he wasn't just some chump! "Alright, let's see you dodge this one... LUMIERE....DU....SOLEIL!!! Rather than have javelins descend from the castle to charge at the metal hedgehog, this time a large beam of luminescent light would shine brilliantly from atop the flying castle. As if sunlight itself had been endowed in that blade it's luster would blind the machine's sensors for a brief moment as its rays would shoot out from the edge of the flighting entity.
Metal Sonic	Metal Sonic doesn't fall for the same attack twice, quickly waving past the Bullet Bill this time. Unfortunately he doesn't do so well against kicks and massive death lasers, once again flying back towards the back. The smoke being emitted is more prominent, and actual inner mechanics are now exposed as their metal plating is beginning to be stripped away, and yet, the still move. The end is almost in sight now, and it's pretty clear what happens to the loser. There's a tunnel perfectly sized for the wall that has been following them all this time, and another console at the end. Probably to close a door so that the loser gets crushed. And Metal Sonic is determined to not let that happen to them again, as they spring back into motion. Desperate claw swipes are delivered to everyone as they make a mad dash towards the finish line, but it's clear they're beginning to slow down as the damage catches up to them.
Sarracenia	Those are some powerful slashes! Sarracenia's racer is cut to shreds and coughs a puff of smoke before the rocket engine shuts down. "No no no! The finish line is right there!" she exclaims before...KABOOM! The racecar explodes like the powderkeg it is, and Sarracenia lets out a long scream as she goes flying through the air toward that console! She's going to make it! She's going to-! She doesn't make it. Her flight path is much too low, and she goes skidding across the pavement. She steadily loses speed until she is going slowly enough that she can get to her feet. At which point she makes a mad dash for it! She is never going to outrun any of the others on foot, but she is not one to give up! "Do not dare activate that until I am safe!" she pants before yelping as legs give out. The laser blast, the exploding, and the bouncing across the pavement quickly catch up with her and she stumbles before falling over. She tries to scramble toward the safety of the console, but she probably won't make it without some kind of help.
Arcadia	Oh, so that's why there haven't been that many traps on the course. The entire end of the race is a trap to some degree. After her own high speed scratch fest brawl Arcadia can't pull away fast enough to completely avoid the desperate strike, the robotic claws scraping down her side as she's twisting to avoid getting completely eviscerated. The claws do dig into some technorganic flesh as well as armor still, but by this point Arcadia is too high on adrenaline to be concerned with it right now. There was still the race to finish! (And survive) Metal Sonic is moving a bit slower than before, which is still really goddamn fast still. But it is a bit easier for her to pull up at the same speed than before. As the sphinx is gaining alongside the robotic hedgehog she turns towards him, greenish tints shimmering around her as she uses her own air manipulation to launch a concussive shockwave and try to slam him out of his forward momentum. "Brake Wind!"
Charlemagne	Yes death lasers are definitely cool, though draining immensely draining. Enough that even atop the castle the young knight finally finds himself breathing a bit more heavily as he takes a knee. "Dang, it's still kicking and running, huh? Not bad...But if you're gonna show you're almost at of juice, I gotta try to set up to the plate a bit more too..." It was funny, even as this man found himself completely exhausted the idea of having a comeback win found him compelled to keep trying to push forward. It wasn't much but it gave him just a bit more of the drive to push himself to get up in this metal rat's face as he saw the finish line. He found himself with so much drive in fact that rather than cross the finish line with his oversized castle the youth literally jumps from the floating entity that was likely several stories up! He was literally skybombing this metallic rodent with his last attack and intending to cross the finish line in one fell swoop. Was this guy crazy....There's a high possibly as he lunges from above like a hawk intending to capture it's hedgehog prey.
Metal Sonic	Sarra's out of the race. And possibly out of this life. Which is probably going to cause some problems in the future but it's not his concern right now. Charle and Arcadia then throw attacks, which cause Metal Sonic to stumble and nearly lose their speed, but they pull themselves together. There's another, mad burst of speed as Metal Sonic pushes their engine to the absolute limit at this point, creating another sonic boom in an attempt to knock everyone back as they move even faster towards the finish line.
Arcadia	Arcadia isn't about to let one of those sonic booms be her undoing. So it might seem to be counter-intuitive when she seems to dive right into it. But that's the method to the madness. As she does so she tucks in her limbs and folds back her wings, making herself as sleek and non-resistant as possible. She hits the sonic shockwave and is still rattled down to the metallic bones, but her own speed punchs through it so fast that the exposure and the vibrations are kept to a minimum. It's just enough to hang on for the end of the race. At this point she's not even attacking Metal, she's just divebombing for the tunnel and the end of the running, making one last push to try and get past Eggman's mechanical marvel.
Arcadia	ZOOM! Arcadia pushes it to the limit and then some, as she is oft to do. Even as many of her own own magitek systems are starting to redline from the strain. She blasts past the console at the end of the tunnel, but manages to slap the button with her tail as she does so, just for that extra bit of styling. Which is counteracted a moment later when it's apparent that she's going too fast for her run down systems to effectively -stop- her own momentum. So instead of making a graceful dramatic stop the sphinx hits the ground, tumbles a bit, and ends up skidding a fair distance past the finish line before finally coming to a stop. Face down and shoulders deep into the ground. She manages to hold up one arm in a dazed twitch. "... Worth it..."
Metal Sonic	The door behind Arcadia slams shut, and Metal Sonic finds himself slamming into it at high speeds. There's a loud thunk as the shutter door gives and bends as the badnik finds themselves embedded in it. The spike wall keeps moving, and moving. Though, it eventually comes to a screeching halt, way before it even reaches the enclosed tunnel, but close enough to the Princess to probably give her a frighten. Smoke billows from it as a siren goes off, alerting worker robots that are no longer here that something is in need of repairs. It also, sadly, cuts off Eggman's stellar mixtape.