Sonic Runaways

Sonic ran ahead, out of the entanglement of shrubbery and dirt. As soon as he exited the brush, he found himself on the edge of a large, sleek and futuristic city. Still, even with all the technology, there remained nature. It reminded Sonic of a good future on Little Planet. Knuckles leapt out of the shrubs, and looked all around. "Phew. No sign of those weird robots," Knuckles sighed in relief. "They haven't reached the city. Sorry, Sonic. I can show you around later. We need to warn Warlord Pachacamac!" Knuckles ran forward to the large metal pyramid in the center of the city square. Sonic followed, as Tails and Amy caught up to him.

"Warlord 'who'?!" Sonic asked, jogging by a crowd of what he guessed were echidnas. They looked similar to Knuckles, if not a little more fuchsia than red. They all stared in his direction, fascinated. "What? You've never seen a hedgehog before?" Sonic jeered at them, shrugging and walking along. His playful smile quickly fell when he saw Knuckles running up the stairs of the pyramid. "Hey, Knuckles, where ya going?!" Sonic zipped over to Knuckles.

"Look, this might be serious. More than you---" Sonic warned Knuckles. Suddenly, the glass door to the pyramid slid open. Out stepped a large rufous echidna, dressed in a militaristic white suit with multiple badges on it. He had a large, feathered, guitar-body-shaped black wool hat. Knuckles bowed down, but Sonic kept standing.

"Greetings, your majesty," Knuckles said. This rufous echidna must have been Warlord Pachacamac. However, Pachacamac didn't so much as glance at Knuckles. His eyes were locked on Sonic.

"My goodness…" Pachacamac gasped, eyes widening. Sonic looked at him awkwardly. Before surprisingly, Pachacamac fell to his knees and put his hands together over his head. Sonic's quills rose upright in surprise for a second. "It is you! The legendary golden hedgehog who will save our land!"

"Who, me?" Sonic asked, caught off-guard by Pachacamac. Pachacamac immediately stood up.

"Erm… maybe… You look more blue than anything else. But you're still a hedgehog, so I suppose you could be---" Pachacamac started. Then, Amy and Tails caught up once more. Pachacamac's eyes widened. "Erm… uhh… Knuckles, there's another hedgehog. Which one is the golden hedgehog of legend? Why is the man wearing MORE than the woman?"

"Oh my…" Amy mumbled, teetering from side to side with her arms behind her back. "That's not proper!"

"So... what? You haven't put something on over those mummy wrappings since you were a statue. You're gonna put actual clothes on for once?" Tails groaned, looking to Amy. "It was a little embarrassing walking through that crowd with a half-naked crazy woman."

"What? No. I meant my Sonikku should take his clothes off too. Even things out," Amy corrected Tails, with a big smile.

"Erm… okay, Pachacamac," Sonic said, trying to change the subject back to the pressing matters at hand. Though he tripped over his letters when pronouncing the warlord's name, Pachacamac's stare did not waver. "I'd like for you to listen to what Knuckles has to say. It's pretty important."

"Of course, o' golden one!" Pachacamac exclaimed. "Knuckles, what is the matter?"

"On the way back from my post, after I met Sonic, Tails and Amy, we all saw these weird flying robots," Knuckles informed Pachacamac. "They burned down almost everything in the Angel Forest zone. I think they're heading this way." Just then, wildfire sirens blared throughout the entirety of Echidnaopolis. From every direction. Everybody looked all around and saw Flame Crafts in the distance, surrounding the city entirely. There must have been an entire fleet of these war machines focused on that one small area.

"Shoot… they're here already?!" Sonic asked. Amy and Tails looked onwards in shock.

"Your majesty… surely there must be something we can do to defeat them!" Knuckles pleaded.

"Of course! The city of Echidnaopolis will never fold to a few robots!" Pachacamac proclaimed. "I'll take care of this!" He then pierced his knuckles into the wall, and used them to climb to the peak of the pyramid the rest of them stood at the front doors of. All until he reached the highest point of the panicking city. Sonic ran up to the top of the pyramid as well. He watched as the center of the roof parted in a blast of steam, and a big green glow emanated from within the haze. He felt a small tickle as electricity coursed through his veins. He knew this feeling.

"A Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked, as he began to sparkle with lightning. The mist faded. It looked like one of the gems from before, but it wasn't quite the same… It was way too large. It was the same color, sure, but you could just about hold a single Chaos Emerald in your hand. This gem was larger than Sonic's entire body.

"Not quite, o' golden one," Pachacamac replied. "This… is the Master Emerald! The most powerful object in existence." Pachacamac hopped onto the Master Emerald, and began to sparkle with electricity. He turned a bright pink. "Allow me to demonstrate its power over these lowly mechanical beings!" Pachacamac held his hand in front of him, and shot out a crackling, sizzling bolt of electricity. It instantly pierced multiple Flame Crafts. As Pachacamac spun around, he destroyed robot after robot with the power of the Master Emerald. Until none remained. His job complete, Pachacamac fell forward off the Master Emerald, smacking right into the roof. The electricity surrounding him fizzled.

"Pachacamac! Are you okay?" Sonic asked, bewildered. He didn't think he could lift the warlord back up to his feet.

"I'm quite fine, yes," Pachacamac replied. Despite what he said… his dreadlocks were smoking. "The great Master Emerald's energy is as exhausting to use as it is powerful. Unlike the Chaos Emeralds, even using just a little piece of its unlimited power can have painful results for the bearer. But I can take it. I'm not called a warlord for nothing."

"That electricity power you just used…" Sonic replied after a short silence. "It's a lot like my own electric powers."

"Precisely, golden one!" Pachacamac wheezed. He slowly got to his feet. "It is because YOUR POWER--- is a prime example of Chaos energy, the energy which the Master Emerald controls--- and harnesses in its own right."

"My power?" Sonic asked. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised at that point. He had gotten wrapped up in another prophecy not long ago, even though the event that prophecy foretold dwindled before it had even come to be. "What does my power have to do with Chaos energy? I only learned what the Chaos Emeralds were a few months back. It took me a few days to use their power to go 'super', too."

"Ah, but you did use their power in the end, correct?" Pachacamac asked. "Not many people can do that, you know. It is an ability only few are born with. Exactly why I believe you are the golden hedgehog of the prophecy, despite your rather azure appearance right now. Often, Super forms will show the user's true colors, both literally and spiritually. I am sure you are aware of this if you have already activated your Super form once before."

"Yeah, I guess I did turn yellow…" Sonic replied.

"Just as I expected. Yellow is a good color for your soul, my friend," Pachacamac muttered, smiling. He turned to the sun setting amidst the flames in the surrounding Angel Forest. "Well, I am sure even you must be very tired after such a long day. Just as I am." Pachacamac chuckled. "You should get some rest. I am sure you and the robots' arrival signifies the doomsday growing ever closer. Only you can save Angel Island, Sonic." Pachacamac turned around and walked off. "And I have every reason to believe you will not let us down." Pachacamac jumped from the pyramid and began to glide away using his dreadlocks to trap air under them, until he became a speck in the distance.

Sonic held his fist close to his chest, in shock of what he had just learned about himself. Pachacamac seemed to know a lot about Chaos energy, so Sonic took his word for it. He began to slide down the pyramid. When he reached the bottom, he found the others amidst the still shaken-up crowd.

"Sonic, was that you up there?!" Tails exclaimed, completely astounded. "I mean, I already knew your lightning powers were strong, but… you took out an entire fleet of Flame Crafts?"

"No, that wasn't me," Sonic replied. "That was all Pachacamac with something he called the Master Emerald."

"I heard you two talking," Knuckles stated. "I never thought the prophecized doomsday would occur during my lifetime, much less that I'd be able to meet the legendary golden hedgehog. It's an honor to meet you." Sonic let out a sound of discomfort.

"What's this prophecy about, anyways?" Sonic asked. "I mean, I can't really stop this 'doomsday' if I don't know what it is."

"We don't know much either," Knuckles replied. "I'll tell you what little we do on the way to the number one hotel in Echidnaopolis. It gets pretty cold out here when night falls. Well, normally, at least."

"Sleeping in the cold? Sounds like a dream after being stuck in that forest fire," Sonic yawned. He and the others followed Knuckles through the night down the colorful, futuristic yet highly vegetated streets of Echidnaopolis. Knuckles took every opportunity he had to explain the buildings and their uses. Though Sonic was well aware what the cafe was for. And the gym. And the grocery store. These structures all seemed oddly ancient in shape and nature. However, these old buildings all looked to be kept alive by new coats of paint and regular refurbishments. The sidewalk was so pearly white that Sonic felt bad stepping on it. The only oversight in the design were the floating street lamps, because they were made obsolete by the flooring itself shining enough to make the night bright. Sonic looked up, and couldn't see a star in the pitch black sky. Only embers dancing about from the nearby wildfire.

"The doomsday was an event prophecized by my ancestors in ancient times," Knuckles retold. "Details have gotten a little messy over the millenia, but this much is certain. It will be a battle fought between a small golden hedgehog powered by all seven Chaos Emeralds, fighting for what's right, and a mad scientist fighting to steal the Master Emerald… in space."

"A mad scientist?" Sonic and Tails asked. Visions of Lord Robotnik's face flashed across their eyes. But… Lord Robotnik was dead. They both saw it happen plain as day.

"The Iron Queen?" Sonic asked.

"Keep dreaming, Sonic," Tails groaned, glaring at Sonic irritatedly.

"I wouldn't know. I've been living on this secluded island for as long as I can remember," Knuckles answered. He quickened his pace a little. "We're almost there." Soon, they all arrived at a hotel. "Well, this is your spot. I should be going now, I have training in a few minutes. I wish you luck in fulfilling the prophecy, Sonic." Knuckles walked away, but soon stopped in place. "Warlord Pachacamac really believes in you. Please don't let him down."

"Bye, Knuckles!" Amy hollered, waving goodbye as Knuckles ran off.

"Brr… it's getting really cold…" Tails stated, shivering.

"It's not. Are you okay?" Sonic asked. The air was hot because of the nearby forest fire. It had been a while since Tails had taken his medicine, but Sonic didn't want to bring that up. It would have made Amy erupt with questions she had no business knowing the answers to, anyways.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tails yawned. He pushed the doors to the hotel open, and basked in the orange light and warmth of the lobby. Sonic looked on worriedly, before entering the hotel.