Sonic Runaways

(THIS STORY TAKES PLACE SOME TIME AFTER THE EVENTS OF SONIC RUNAWAYS: MANIPULATED.)

Rouge swooped down into the lowest layer of Egg Base Omega. She landed without a sound, in a deep pitch black corridor. Eggman's Badniks were none the wiser as she marched amongst them, taking care not to shove. Having resigned from GUN, she needed money now more than ever. But she would starve herself before she would sell off her gem collection, so her only option was to steal from others. She wouldn't settle for the ordinary citizen, she was only targeting people who were at least as wealthy as she once was. She knew it was picky, but her ego couldn't afford to let her scrape by on the contents of what basically amounted to children's piggy banks and pocket money.

As Rouge daydreamed of the supposed treasure hidden in this Eggman base, she felt something grab her by the shoulder. She screamed. The hand wasn't metallic… but it wasn't warm either. Next thing she knew, there was a flash of green light. She was now in a different room. Despite being dizzy as all get out, she could see that there was a small flickering light overhead, and a figure standing over her. A small beeping sound came from the floor as the security systems recognized foreign lifeforms in the room.

"Sonic…?" Rouge mumbled incoherently, squinting. The figure scurried off in a blur that dissipated before Rouge's delirious mind could tell what color it was. She looked all around, her eyes refocusing and lighting up at the same time. In the room was a horde of treasure! "I made it! I actually found Eggman's treasure!" Rouge exclaimed, triumphantly. She covered her mouth as she heard distant gunshots. "Best not alert them… I'll just take what I can get and go." Rouge thought, wrapping her arms around as much of the treasure as possible. She heard another round of gunshots. "Ignore that!" She scolded herself. Another gunshot and a cry of pain emanated from the other room. Rouge groaned, dropped the treasure, and ran off to assist. The room blew up behind her.

As she ran, she couldn't help but dwell on how familiar the voice had sounded.

She jumped back as a bullet sped through from down the hallway. She breathed heavily, and tried to muster up the courage to peek around the corner. She watched in as a large bipedal Eggman-brand bot fought against a dark blur. She couldn't quite make out who it was because of the speeds they traveled at. But a single swing from the hulking mass of machinery fixed that issue. The E-Series robot grabbed the hedgehog with claws as large as the hedgehog's entire body, and slammed him into the wall. It was…

Shadow.

It was definitely him, despite there being no explanation for him being alive. "Gah! What do you think you're doing? What are you?" Shadow asked, prying at the E-Series robot's claws and forcing it to unhand him. He then shot at the robot and hit it with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"I am killing you. Unit's designation is E-123 Omega," the robot replied, headbutting Shadow without so much as a flinch. "All Eggman robots MUST be destroyed."

"What do you mean, 'Eggman'?!" Shadow shouted. "I'm no robot!"

"Then what are you?" Omega argued, boosting himself forward with flames from his back and slashing at Shadow. "State your origin, or your origin is irrelevant."

"Like I know! I'm willing to bet you're keeping that tidbit of information to yourself," Shadow snapped, kicking Omega with his Rocket Skates activated. A molten gash appeared on Omega's chestplate. Shadow knocked Omega down and tore his arm off, revealing the circuitry underneath. "And you're going to tell me everything before I dig the answers out of your hard drive." Seeing an opening to intervene, Rouge ran forward and separated the two.

"Whoa! No need to get violent," Rouge exclaimed, her heart pounding in fear as she put all her strength into shoving the two raging powerhouses away from each other.

"Negative. Unit's purpose is to get violent," Omega stated.

"I can vouch for Shadow. He's not created by Eggman at all. You sure look like an Eggman robot though, and what you just said pretty much settles it," Rouge slurred, still recovering from Chaos Control. Omega slowly backed off of Shadow. Shadow stepped back as well. "Okay… we ready to figure out exactly WHAT'S going on here? Shadow, I thought you were dead! What are you doing in an Egg Base?"

"I'm sorry, but… who are you?" Shadow asked. Rouge's eyes widened.

Minutes passed, of them simply trying to get on the same page. "So you… you were left here by Eggman for years. That's why you want to destroy his other robots… and him?" Rouge confirmed. Omega nodded by bending his whole upper torso forward slightly.

"I was built to be coated in at least fourteen layers of blood at all times, not dust," Omega replied coldly.

"And you… you have no idea who you are?" Rouge asked Shadow. Shadow crossed his arms and looked away embarrassedly. "You mean to say you've lost all your memories?"

"It sounds pathetic, I know," Shadow sighed. "I was locked in this place for what felt like a lifetime. You say some 'egg-man' put me here?"

"It's his base, so probably," Rouge answered. "I came here looking for his treasure, but that was… a bust." Rouge then had an idea. "Hey, we all have our own reasons to track down Eggman. Shadow, he might have answers to your memories. Omega, find him and you'll definitely be able to carry out your revenge plot. As for me? He probably has more treasure lying around somewhere! Why don't we all work together to get what we want from the Eggman?"

"I suppose I can join you," Shadow muttered.

"Yes! YES! Let the carnage begin!" Omega roared.

"Aw yeah, baby! This makes us a team!" Rouge exclaimed, as they put all their hands in a circle. Just like that, the deal was set in stone.

…

Amy of the Roses sat down at her beach chair and looked down at her newspaper, staring lovingly at the picture of Sonic's face in the headline. "Oh, Sonikku…" She sighed, cuddling the newspaper. "I wonder when you'll come home…" She reflected on the past few weeks. The shouting match between Sonic and Tails when they arrived back to Professor Pickle's new lab in Obuericos with the new info that Tails was Light Gaia. Sonic storming out of the room, with the promise he was just going on a short run to cool off. He didn't come back. The only sign he was still alive was the string of potential tragedies turned miracles all across the world. Acts of incredible heroism pulled off by what survivors called a "Blue Storm". Strikes of cobalt lightning followed by a rush of azure wind. They could never get a clear picture of this hero— until now— but Amy knew all along that the Blue Storm had to be her Sonic.

Then, she looked to the headline.

"What?! It can't be!" Amy cried. "'Supposed hero Sonic the Hedgehog has kidnapped a frog and a Chao'?!" She put her pointer finger to her chin. "Sonic wouldn't do that… I wonder what's up." She looked closer at the picture beside it. "No way… Froggy and Chocola?! Hey guys! I found a clue!" She turned to the others, peeking over her chair and waving the paper all around.

"Really?!" Cream the Rabbit asked, flying towards Amy and landing on the boardwalk outside their beach rental in Sea Gate Zone. "Lemme see, Ms. Roses!" Cream held the newspaper in her hands and read through it with Cheese the Chao. "That's Chocola… and Froggy! But… why is Mr. Hedgehog taking them? I thought he was nice." Amy turned away, in complete disbelief.

"I don't know. Sonic is very VERY nice, maybe he was saving them from… something," Amy mumbled, lost in her thoughts as Cream struggled against a strong gust of wind. Cream's large ears resulted in her being swept off the ground and blasted into the distance. Amy only turned around when Cream cried out for help, her voice growing quieter as she was thrown into the distance. "Cream!" A fishing rod was thrown from the boardwalk, hooking onto Cream's dress before she could splash into the ocean. Amy turned to Big the Cat as he reeled her in. She returned with Cheese flying back soon after.

"Careful, Cream," Big said, returning her to the boardwalk as she shook. "I heard rabbits don't often like to swim."

"Thank you, Mr. Big!" Cream sobbed, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

"Cream! Are you okay?!" Amy cried, running over to the three. Cream nodded, laughing a little. "Good! In that case, we can go after Sonic."

"And Chocola?" Cream asked, looking back on leaving Chocola at the Chao Kindergarten for a few hours, only to come back and find the whole place deserted with no sign of Chocola. Even the ridiculously well-hidden Chao Black Market had been abandoned and raided.

"And Froggy?" Big followed up. He had already forgotten how exactly he lost sight of Froggy.

"Of course! They're all in the same place now, probably, so finding them will be a piece of cake!" Amy replied.

"But it won't be easier. How are we going to catch up with Mr. Hedgehog?" Cream asked. "We don't even know where he is." Amy put a fist on her own hip and chuckled.

"I used to chase Sonic around all the time. I may be a little rusty, but if anybody can catch Sonic, it's me!" Amy exclaimed. "C'mon, guys. Let's go!" They all ran off into Seaside Hill. Watched from afar by a small robotic Chao.

…

Sonic ran around a loop in the middle of Crystal Desert Zone, Shamar. Speeding through the desert, he let the wind blow away his worries and his regrets about leaving all his friends back in Obuericos. He hadn't even gone to the award ceremony at the White House, deep down he hoped the others didn't either due to what had become of the now suspended GUN. Sonic had thought about returning many times before this, they were probably all worried sick. However, he couldn't stand to look at Tails right now. Partially because of the embarrassment over the fight, partially because he couldn't believe Tails had hidden this from him for so long.

Maybe it was time to go back. He was only a ten minute run away, after all. Maybe it was time to face the music and get down to business finding the other World Instruments. Maybe at the very least, he should respond to those messages or just up and call everyone to tell them he was okay.

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails' voice called. Sonic's heart skipped a beat, he skipped a step, and he tumbled forward into a haphazard spin. He fell behind the Cyclone plane, and left a trail in the sand as he slid across the ground. "Oh my God…" Tails flew the Cyclone back around and landed it a safe distance from Sonic. "Sonic! Are you—?"

"Fine, I'm fine," Sonic grumbled, lifting his face from the sand with an irritated expression. Tails walked over and extended a hand under the setting desert sun. Sonic looked up at him, and then opted to use a large nearby gemstone to pull himself up. Tails pulled his own hand away with what Sonic could only read as a hurt expression, as if Sonic had slapped it away. Sonic only then realized how much effort Tails was putting into just walking over to him. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that… I…" Sonic cleared his throat. "... What's the word, Tails?"

"I'll just let Knuckles show you," Tails sighed.

"Knuckles?!" Sonic shouted, watching as Knuckles the Echidna clutched tightly onto the side of the Cyclone and jumped out with a letter in hand. Sonic prayed to the nearest god that Tails hadn't told Knuckles about the argument. "Tails, PLEASE say you didn't tell him anything." Sonic hissed before Knuckles could come close enough to hear.

"Of course not… he doesn't need to know!" Tails whispered.

"So you two were yelling at each other? And you didn't invite me?" Knuckles asked. Sonic glared at Tails.

"Sorry…" Tails sighed, holding his arm.

"Well you were on a floating island in the middle of nowhere," Sonic laughed at Knuckles. "What happened to that, anyways?"

"This situation demands that I assist you down here. I have a trusted friend guarding the Master Emerald," Knuckles replied. He held forward the piece of paper, showing a message from… Eggman.

"Dear 'Sonic Heroes'… guess what? I have a new plan to take over the ENTIRE world in just a few days! Bet you can't stop me, muhahahahahaha!" The letter read. Sonic looked up from the letter.

"Really? He's just gonna send us a letter and give away the fact he's up to something?" Sonic asked, as Knuckles gave the letter back to Tails. "I know he likes to make a scene, but… something doesn't feel right."

"For what it's worth, he accidentally dropped it off at Professor Pickle's old lab in Ccino," Tails giggled. "We wouldn't have found out if it weren't for his assistant cleaning up the place."

"Hmm… alright, then! Sounds like an invitation to party!" Sonic exclaimed, as Tails and Knuckles hopped back into the Cyclone. "Time to crack that Eggman wide open! Yeah! Let's—" Sonic looked to the left, his vision blurring and his voice trailing off. He then zoomed through the desert, leaving behind a sonic boom and a sandstorm. Tails and Knuckles spat out sand as they tried to get the Cyclone to move after him.

"Sonic, what are we gonna do?" Tails asked, hitting the Cyclone's max speed to catch up with Sonic's light jog. "We don't even know where Eggman is!"

"Yeah, we do!" Sonic called over the wind. "Right this way!" Tails and Knuckles exchanged strange glances, but still followed regardless.

…

Vector the Crocodile sat in his office chair, inside the Chaotix Detective Agency Clubhouse. He nodded to the beats of some heavy metal, his headphones so loud that he may as well have not been wearing headphones. Espio stood in the corner. He was once meditating, but it looked like he had just fallen asleep half an hour ago. A buzzing sound grew louder and louder from outside, neither of them noticed. "It's here! It's here!" Charmy exclaimed, shoving the doors open with a package in hand. He ran right into Vector and shoved the package into his face. "It's finally here, yippee!" In a panic, Vector swatted the package and sent it flying. Espio, waking up instantly, tossed a kunai at the package, nailing it to the wall.

"Perfect technique," Espio muttered to himself.

"Didn't you read the box, Espio?! It says 'contents fragile'!" Vector panicked, running over to the package. He pulled out the kunai, tossing it aside carelessly and examining the large box. "What exactly is this? There's no return address."

"Work, work it's work!" Charmy rambled.

"We don't need work, Charmy. We got a lot of money from locking up the Phantom Thief," Vector sighed. "Why don't we just enjoy our new Seaside Hill location in peace for a while?"

"Because we blew all our money getting out of the Eggman Empire, remember?" Espio grumbled, trying to keep his cool. "Adabat won't deport us, but they won't feed us for free either."

"Well, let's just see what's inside," Vector said, opening up the package. Inside, was a red and yellow walkie-talkie with a green button on it. "What? It's some kind of communicator…"

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" An obviously pitched-up voice asked through the walkie-talkie. "Is this the Chaotix Detective Agency?"

"Yeah…? Who's calling?" Vector asked, puzzled. He couldn't quite tell through the filter. "We have a zero tolerance policy on prank calls and birthday wishes from those shams that pose as space aliens. What's your name?"

"My name is… well, it doesn't really matter what my name is," the voice replied. "What does matter is that I have a job for you… and I can pay handsomely." The team's eyes shimmered like gold. "Get out there and complete these trials I have in mind for you, to prove your worth as detectives. Just so you don't sue me, I'll tell you now that there's a tracker inside this device, and it's your choice whether to be rid of the communicator or not. This is just so I can make sure you arrive at the designated Zones these trials can be accomplished in. I will call you again once you arrive in Ocean Palace."

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Espio whispered.

"Huh? What was that?!" Vector asked loudly.

"Yeah, what?!" Charmy cried.

"It's… nothing," Espio groaned, feeling put on the spot.

"Alright then… c'mon, boys! Let's go!" Vector exclaimed, stomping out of the building and into Seaside Hill.

"Roger that…" Espio whispered, following Vector.