Sonic Runaways

Sonic and Tails trekked through the newly-named Collision Chaos, named for its colliding themes and chaotic nature. On their newfound quest to catch up to Metal and save Amy, they found many different robots patrolling the area. These robots had very strange designs, as well. They didn't look exactly like anything Sonic had seen from the Robotnik Empire or Iron Dominion. They almost looked like mish-mashes of the two design types. The creativity and colors of Robotnik's Badniks, mixed with the experimental daringness and practicality of the Iron Dominion's mechs. This unusual concoction mixed together meant sleek paint and dangerous weapons on the oddly bug-themed "Badmechs".

"Nice!" Sonic celebrated as he and Tails stood in a heap of busted Badmech parts. The pain from the electric shock had been gone for quite a while by then, but it had impeded their progress quite a bit. "Hey, Tails, why do these Badmechs all look like bugs? Seems kind of random."

"I don't know, maybe Robotnik just made a weird choice," Tails replied, examining a busted butterfly Badmech. He suddenly saw a gentle light and felt a cozy warmth coming from above him. He and Sonic looked up to the upside-down ocean in the night sky. It was glowing.

Multi-colored flashing lights then descended from the water's surface. They appeared like a swarm of fireflies.

"Whoa…" Sonic and Tails gasped in unison, in complete awe at this sight that was probably only possible on Little Planet.

"Where do you think they're goin'?" Sonic asked, the light reflecting in his eyes.

"No idea, this place is so weird," Tails replied. It was like a meteor shower. The alien fireflies made angelic wispy sounds as their light became nearly indistinguishable from the stars. The sounds must have been loud, because even from such a distance they could just about be heard in Sonic and Tails' ears. "Either it's some kind of alien ritual, or…" Tails' voice trailed off. Sonic became concerned by the frightened look in Tails' eyes.

"Or?" Sonic asked. Tails' fear was concerning.

"They're migrating…" Tails whispered, turning to Sonic. "There must be some threat in this area that they're running away from."

Many of the lights extinguished almost all at once. Sonic stared at the now pitch black patch of the sky, as two flying pods shot lasers out at the darkness. "Robotnik…" Sonic muttered.

The pods continued to shoot at the giant alien fireflies. "Eugh! Can we go home, already?" Iron Queen whined from within her pods. "There's too many of these things, Ivo! And… they're gross." Iron Queen screamed as she zapped one and its bright green alien bug blood almost splashed on her. The firefly let out a dying screech that almost sounded like a singing choir as its blood ran down Iron Queen's windshield. She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"No, Regina, we can't allow any of these THINGS to pollinate the flowers of Little Planet," Robotnik grumbled. "I don't enjoy tedious busywork like this either, but I'm always happy to crush a foe." Robotnik zapped a firefly, and its blood splashed on his face. He let it do so with a scowl.

"What's so bad about letting these things pollinate the flowers?" Iron Queen asked, taking a rag and wiping the green sludge off her windshield, to small success. "I love machines as much as you do, but nature is pretty!"

"What's so 'pretty' about nature?" Robotnik asked, looking to Iron Queen in ire. "That's how I know you're new at this. You still find beauty in grimy animals, filthy plants, and anything Erius has to offer at its base. What about NATURAL DISASTERS? Those can wipe out an empire in a day. The need for natural sustenance... blood, germs, bodily functions… It's all disgusting! I've even begun transforming myself into a clean and flawless robot, after that rebellious fox sliced off my arm alongside that ungrateful hedgehog." Robotnik held up and gripped the fist attached to his mechanical arm.

"Sonic and Tails aren't that bad," Iron Queen replied. "They're kinda fun to have around, even if they do track mud on the castle… don't follow many federal laws… and break into government-owned planetoids. I tried to kill them, sure, but that was just to enforce the rules."

"Shut your mouth!" Robotnik growled. "Do you hear… a helicopter?"

"Hey, be nice to me! Don't forget, I'm still the legal owner of this planet. It's not only hovering over my country, it's directly over my royal turf!" Iron Queen whined loudly. Robotnik struggled to filter out her voice to listen to the peculiar helicopter sound, looking all around for the source of the noise. "You're a guest here to help me coat this place in an iron shell. So stop bad-mouthing my citizens, and know your---!"

Tails slowly flew up between the Rob-O-Matic and the Iron Queen's pod, the Dominator. Sonic was dangling from Tails' hands. "Tails, our entrance was supposed to be cool…" Sonic sighed. Robotnik was shocked, and the Iron Queen broke out laughing. "Didja miss me, Robotnik?" Sonic asked awkwardly. Robotnik remained quiet. "No? Okay. Feeling's mutual."

"What are you doing here?!" Robotnik suddenly roared furiously. "Are you here to ruin my plans again, Sonic?!" Sonic nodded with a mocking expression, laughing through his nose. Robotnik's mustache ruffled itself. "Fine! If you want to come crawling back, I'll finally have the chance to destroy you once and for all!"

Tails spun Sonic around and threw him in ball form directly at the Rob-O-Matic, as Tails curled into his own little ball and propelled himself into the Dominator. The two pods shook and sputtered. The Iron Queen nearly fell off the Dominator, but caught onto the leather seat cushion. The two dictators screamed, as they began to fly their pods away.

"Forget what I said about Sonic and Tails---!" The Iron Queen growled.

"Agh! I'm not putting up with them like this---!" Robotnik grumbled at the same time.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!" They both shouted.

Sonic grabbed onto Tails' hands as the two lowered to the ground, laughing. The fireflies surrounded and danced around them happily, their lights flashing blue and orange to match Sonic and Tails' most prominent colors.

Sonic and Tails set foot on the ground, and high-fived. "These guys seem happy now that Robotnik and the Iron Queen are gone. Never would have expected them to be working together, so they must be working on something extra evil! Quick, let's go after them, they're likely going where Metal Sonic is. And that means Amy!" Tails exclaimed. The fireflies departed and began to pollinate the surrounding flora as Sonic and Tails sped off into the nearby volcanic region of Little Planet. A new flower spouted as they left. However, a certain destructive airship was slowly yet surely making its way to their newly-found haven.