Sonic Runaways

Lord Robotnik sat atop his floating office chair in the living quarters of the Robo Utopia. He took a sip of black coffee, and stared tiredly at the monitor. A quick ping sound effect. The icon representing the assassin he had hired to kill Sonic showed an incoming call. He answered it.

"Hello, Penumbra," Robotnik spoke into the microphone. A window showing Penumbra the Spider showed up on the screen. "Did you succeed in killing the hedgehog?"

"No, I don't think so…" Penumbra sighed, resting atop the train station roof. "Tails was with him, he gave me quite a beating. I failed to kill him as well."

Robotnik looked upset. "You've wasted my time, Penumbra. I know you're not from around here, but while you're in my empire, I have complete and total control," he growled. "Find them! If you don't, I will have you executed!"

Penumbra looked away. "Train's here, I'll follow them to the Mystic Ruins." Penumbra jumped on the roof of the train as it left the station.

"If they get away from you there, they'll be at the demilitarization zone at the archipelago. You'd better make this count!" Robotnik shouted. "I want the hedgehog and fox dead, not just missing! If they cross that line, they'll be home free, and they will have successfully made it to the Iron Dominion's land. If I try to send assassins there, war will break out. We cannot afford that at the moment."

"With all due respect, Robotnik… you've never been able to afford war with the Iron Dominion. Believe me, I used to live near there. I was born in the Dragon Kingdom, actually," Penumbra replied. Robotnik grumbled, irritated. "You always lose, and then the Iron Dominion takes pity on you and hardly retaliates."

"Things will be different once my Robo Utopia is complete," Robotnik retorted, putting one foot on the chair and pointing at the webcam, ergo, Penumbra. He grinned and sat back down in a relaxed position. "I'm sure a clever lady such as yourself already knows, and I know you won't tell, but I plan on using the seven Chaos Emeralds to power the weapons of my Robo Utopia. Or as it's truly called behind the scenes… the Robodoom! I have already collected six of the fabled jewels."

A sneaky intruder looked on from the shadows of the room, eyes glistening when Robotnik mentioned this. "The Chaos Emeralds? Aren't those just fairy tales?" Penumbra asked.

"Not at all," Robotnik replied. "In early times, they were the foundation upon which society as a whole was built… Of course, society only being built initially to fight over them. You see, they don't only grant children's wishes like in the stories. These seven brilliant cut gems of limitless power can be used to do nearly anything. One could even become a god should they collect all seven! However, I only wish to use them to power the super lasers located in the Robodoom's eyes. With them, I will finally destroy my rival pests and rule the world--- no--- the universe!"

"And what about Sonic?" Penumbra asked.

"What ABOUT Sonic? All I need him dead for is my own amusement," Robotnik stated. "He's powerless to do any real damage. Especially with my Metal Sonic! Metal is his superior in every way. In fact, he has a few secret abilities not even Sonic knows about! I'm sure one in particular will come in handy in your search." Robotnik whistled for Metal Sonic, who arrived at his beck and call as fast as the real Sonic. "Metal! Open the SoniCam!"

Metal buzzed and whirred, before opening a holographic screen from his eyes. "So, I was out for how long?" Sonic's voice asked, as Metal performed a near perfect video and audio output of Sonic's point of view. Complete with his brain signals, heart rate, and even coordinates in the corners. The intruder squinted.

"About an hour," Tails replied, unknowingly being recorded by the SoniCam. "Don't worry, I doubt that spider woman will be bothering us for a while." Penumbra smiled and tilted her head from Robotnik's monitor. Sonic's heart rate spiked and his brain signals went crazy. Penumbra's eyes widened confusedly.

"Yeah… umm… who was she, anyways?" Sonic asked, quickly calming himself. "I haven't seen her before at HQ."

"I don't know… maybe she's freelance?" Tails asked. "She definitely isn't from around here, that's for sure. I wouldn't get too attached." Sonic looked to the ground.

"Aww, that's adorable!" Penumbra laughed. "Glad to see I left an impression!"

"Shut up!" Robotnik shouted suddenly. "What was that in the dirt?" Metal Sonic's eyes displayed an upload signal. "Huh?! Metal Sonic, what could you be doing?" Robotnik stared into the upload signal. He was… transferring information.

"Look, I just have a feeling about---!" Sonic exclaimed as soon as the upload finished. "Wait… what was that glimmer?" Tails looked back to see a green light coming from the dirt.

"I didn't even see it before. Nice catch!" Tails said, cautious at first. "Ah, stay back. It might be radioactive."

"I have gloves on," Sonic replied.

"There are special precautions for this type of thing, and special GLOVES," Tails said. He pulled out his Tails Electric, a special tablet designed specifically for him. If an ordinary mobile phone was like a mini computer, this was like a mini supercomputer. "Hmm, I'm not picking up any radioactivity."

"Then we're all good!" Sonic replied, rushing towards the green glow. He brushed aside the dirt, and saw… a green brilliant-cut gem.

"Egad! The last Chaos Emerald!" Robotnik shouted, observing from the Robodoom. "Why, if Sonic wields its power, this could be catastrophic!" The intruder scurried away without so much as the sound of a footstep.

"I'm on it…" Penumbra said. "I'll be there in---"

"No, he'll probably be too far from his current area no matter what time you get there," Robotnik grumbled. "Besides, with that emerald, he now has limitless power on his side. It's impossible for anyone not wielding an emerald to beat him now."

"So what does this mean?" Penumbra asked. "I see what you're trying to do… you're trying to get out of paying me, huh? By letting me go?"

"Yes. Now go away," Robotnik said. He moved Penumbra's icon to the trash, and just like that, the call ended. "Now what am I going to do? I can only hope for a miracle to get that emerald back from the blue nuisance."

"Hey!" Penumbra shouted into her communicator. "Ugghhh… he'll regret this!"