Sonic Runaways

Sonic zoomed through the Stardust Speedway. He could only have imagined what it used to look like, before Robotnik's airship came through and devastated most of the area. He supposed it made things easier for him, because there were no plants left to try and eat him or Tails. However, not all was well. The air was heavy with chemicals, and it felt almost too hot to breathe. It almost looked like a dark amusement park ride imitating a speedway, as opposed to an actual speedway. Garish colors covered the road and surrounding empty city. The sky ran red with an unknown substance.

Around loop-de-loops, past dash pads, and out of makeshift cannons, Sonic did not slow down for a second. Tails was hardly keeping up. It was a mad dash to find Amy at the end of this winding and twisting road. Sonic still had to wonder why she wasn't coming back on her own. It certainly would have saved him a lot of trouble. Sonic suddenly saw something as he rounded the corner. He screeched to a halt on his heels. It was… Robotnik, Iron Queen and Metal Sonic! Robotnik was staring at him, having been expecting him once again.

"Robotnik!" Sonic shouted, swiftly pointing at Robotnik. "I'm here to settle this. I won't let you keep Amy prisoner!" Tails caught up, and skidded to a stop.

"Prisoner?" Robotnik asked. He then laughed. "Don't be stupid! You know I take no prisoners, especially not horticulturists such as her. I'm going to use her in all her quartz form as a battery for my Cosmic Eternity airship, which will soon have futurized everything on Little Planet!" Sonic gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Metal Sonic snapped his gaze over at Robotnik, wide-eyed. Robotnik glared at him, and Metal Sonic quickly looked to the ground, reluctantly obedient.

"You mean OUR Cosmic Eternity airship," Iron Queen reminded him. Robotnik swung his head around to look at her, and a smile crept onto his face.

"Yes… OUR Cosmic Eternity airship," Robotnik replied sinisterly.

"Because we're---!" Robotnik and Iron Queen posed animatedly. "--- BEST FRIENDS!" They laughed evilly.

"But! I will give you a slim fighting chance to thwart my scheme, Sonic," Robotnik declared. "You will race against Metal Sonic to the end of Stardust Speedway. There, you will find your precious Amy. Should you prove yourself faster (you won't), you, Tails and Amy can be on your merry way. Should you lose (yes), you and Tails will be blasted to the distant past by the miniature futurization laser in my Rob-O-Matic. Then you will never be able to bother me again!" Robotnik zapped the ground as an example with the green laser. There was a spot of green grass in the spot the laser hit that quickly died. "Either way, I WILL conquer all of Little Planet. And you will have nowhere to go after this is done."

Sonic sighed sadly, and for a second Robotnik relished the feeling of having beaten Sonic down if only a little bit. But Robotnik's joy was short-lived. "Do you know who you're talking to?" Sonic sneered, putting a thumb to his chest and smirking. "I'm the fastest thing alive! I have everywhere to go, and everything to do. I'm afraid I've grown out of restrictions. I'll run circles around this cheap copper copy!"

Sonic stepped right up to Metal Sonic, scratching his own nose. "So now we can get down to the REAL race. The first Sonic to the finish line will be the winner," Sonic declared. Metal Sonic glared at him silently, gripping his sharp iron claws. "What? Little Planet isn't big enough for both of us, and one of us has to go?" Metal's eyes sharpened in bloodthirst. He wanted to threaten Sonic, or at least taunt him back. But he couldn't. Instead, he was limited to displaying only pure rage. He logged this under humiliating. "Well, I agree!"

"Ready…" Iron Queen said, pulling out a checkerboarded race flag.

"Set…" Robotnik replied, shaking around a miniature replica of the same flag.

"GO!" They both shouted. Sonic and Metal Sonic blasted off.

Sonic was already in the far lead, zipping around tight turns and grinding on pipes. This was hardly even a race. Sonic was crushing Metal. That was, until he heard a sharp sound behind him. Sonic instinctively jumped, and Metal Sonic blasted right under him in a blue blur. Sonic's eyes widened.

"No way… how are you---?" Sonic asked. Even when Sonic wasn't really trying, it was unusual for anything to pass him when he was running. Sonic did not like it one bit. He sped up until he was neck and neck with Metal. "Hahaha-HUE…!" Sonic choked on a bug mid-laughter. He fell behind, but quickly caught up once he coughed the bug out, a smug smile on his face.

"Hey, nice cloak! Nice mask!" Sonic exclaimed, pointing at Metal. Metal slapped his hand away furiously whilst keeping his momentum. "Oh, don't be shy. I really do think it's cool-looking," Sonic teased. Metal appeared to be confused. Sonic then grinned devilishly. "Wish I thought of it first." Metal's pupils sparked with a desire for vengeance disguised as electricity.

Sonic ran around a corkscrew as Metal simply flew in between the winding road with his jets. Despite all Sonic's teasing, the hedgehog had to admit he was scared. He enjoyed tearing Metal down only because Metal was threatening one of the most important things to Sonic: the hedgehog's ego. Because Metal had proven himself to probably be just as fast as Sonic, and if Metal was faster… Sonic didn't know if he could stand it.

Metal blasted forward again, all fired up. Literally. His ventilation system wasn't just smoking, it was blazing. His hardware couldn't keep up with his software's determination. Metal acknowledged one of Sonic's core traits was his speed. If he could just keep this momentum going, maybe it would make him Sonic. Sonic would do everything in his power to keep his title of the fastest thing alive. Metal acknowledged that if he overthrew the hedgehog and claimed that throne, he would not only be the fastest… but he'd also be alive in a sense. That was his end goal. Be the fastest. Be alive. Be Sonic. He would seize that name by any means necessary, even if it meant killing himself in the process.

"You're on fire, but because of that, you aren't looking too hot," Sonic chuckled at his own joke, catching up to Metal. "STRANGE, isn't it?!" Metal swiped at him, but Sonic dodged with unhinged laughter. Even Sonic himself was overheating, even he was losing his composure a little. But the only thing that could stop this high for him was failure. Sonic rounded a corner, and quickly saw… the finish line in the form of the end of the road only a few yards away. It led into a kind of fortress. Amy of the Roses was right there at the wide-open entrance. Metal saw this too. "It all comes down to this!" Sonic shouted, strained and sweaty as he put all his strength into running as fast as he could. He was running so fast that everything seemed to be moving so slow. That was how he could register the sweat on his face, the pain in his legs, the wind screaming in his ears… and Metal suddenly rocketing forward in an explosion.

Sonic's eyes widened as Metal burst into flames from his engine, propelling the robot forward in one last stand of pure raw dedication to winning the race. Metal was now completely engulfed in a blaze. He entered the fortress on his face, and the door automatically slammed shut behind him as he tumbled through. Sonic skidded to a stop, realizing nothing would come out of him continuing to run except for him bashing straight into a solid wall. He stared at the door, confused and bewildered.

"I… lost?" Sonic asked. He walked up to the door, and then looked to the floor. He suddenly felt a sharp pain running down both legs. "Guah!" He gasped, as he fell to the ground. He had put everything he had into that race, and in the end… he still failed. He felt his ego crumble. This hit him harder when he heard Robotnik and Iron Queen laughing. And Tails running up to him.

"Sonic! You won…! Wait, where's Amy?" Tails asked, frantically. His heart sank. "Sonic… don't tell me you---!" Tails shook Sonic on the shoulder desperately. Sonic grunted in response. He had completely overworked himself.

"Tails… run, Tails," Sonic gasped for air, before falling to the ground. He was still awake, but he couldn't move his legs as the Rob-O-Matic approached, time travel laser ready to fire.

Robotnik cackled. "I've done it! I've beaten Sonic the Hedgehog!" Robotnik celebrated. "How does it feel to have your proudest power beaten into the ground, hedgehog?" Sonic couldn't respond as his vision became hazy.

"Look at him! He's at a loss for words!" Iron Queen exclaimed through laughter. "Shall we give him a little blast to the past, Ivo?"

"We shall!" Robotnik replied. He hovered the Rob-O-Matic over Sonic and Tails.

"Tails, get out of here," Sonic whispered hollowly as the laser that would throw them into the distant past powered up.

"No… I won't…" Tails replied, teary-eyed but with a newfound smile. "It wouldn't be fair for you to do something stupid, then leave me all alone, right?" Sonic had already passed out from exhaustion. Tails wiped the tears from his eyes.

"So long, Sonic… enjoy your new home in prehistory!" Robotnik shouted. The laser fired, and instantly all of Sonic and Tails' senses cut out.