Sonic Runaways

Sonic was beating up a punching bag, repeatedly bashing the stuffed opponent so much that it tore. Dodon Pa had allowed for a mental health respite because of the poisoned water everyone had been playing around in, on the condition that every participant kept training tirelessly during the break. They were each given their own temporary dorm rooms with gym equipment. The whole place felt like a prison, cramped and monitored.

"A Shadow Android… could that be it?" Sonic mumbled to himself through his heavy panting. He kicked the punching bag so hard it did a loop-de-loop on its chain. Before it could circle around and knock him over, he turned around in the blink of an eye and kicked it back. "That… can't be all he was, right? The real deal's out there, somewhere in the world." POW! Sonic landed another punch. "Shadow wouldn't go down that easy…" BAM! Sonic Homing Attacked the bag. "Shadow has been with us this whole time! He didn't die when he fell from the Ark." CRACK! SLAM! BANG! "He wasn't a FAKE!" With a piercing kick, Sonic disintegrated the punching bag into a cloud of rocks and rubble.

Sonic let his arms fall to his side, overlooking what he had done as he hyperventilated. He held his eye, it was irritated by the dust. "Drat, I'll have to pay for that, won't I?" He sighed, glancing to the clock in the corner. 12:11.

Sonic opened the door and poked his head out of his dorm, waving the punching bag smoke out of his face. He didn't exactly know if he was supposed to be out here. Judging by the distant hub-bub coming from the lobby, it was probably allowed.

"Silver?"

Sonic's eyes landed on the other hedgehog, he instantly zipped over. "Hey, Silver! What's all the commotion? Are we allowed out here?"

"Since when do you care about what's allowed?" Silver asked, walking ahead. Sonic, stopped in his tracks by the sights of friends he hadn't seen in years, kept having to zip back over to Silver's side.

"Eh, I don't want any trouble with Dodon Pa. Getting kicked out would make it harder to figure out what's going on. Knuckles said—" Sonic watched as Silver began speed-walking away from him, holding a loose leaf of black paper in front of him with his telekinesis. "Hey! Where're you going?"

"I gotta get going! Sorry, Sonic. There's no time," Silver called. Sonic was left in the middle of all the foot traffic, his friends and some of his foes marching around him. They were all headed to the lobby. Sonic began shoving and Boosting through them. Until he found Tails.

"Hey, bro. You doing okay?" Sonic asked. Tails didn't turn to him. "Knuckles filled you in on the plan, right?" Sonic looked over Tails' head as the fox shuddered. He was holding a piece of black paper with white text scrawled on it. "We're going to… team… up…" Sonic's heart felt like it had stopped. "What is that?"

"Sonic… did you get this too?" Tails asked, handing the leaf to Sonic. "Knuckles… it says he…" Sonic read the black mail up and down, over and over. There were pictures attached, showing people with burns and cuts. They didn't look like anybody Sonic had seen in the games. But it was a packed tournament, so anything was possible.

"Knuckles the Echidna was the one who poisoned the water. That simpleton thought the Mega Mack in the canyon was GRAPE JUICE, and broke the tank to let the purple gunk slip into the seltzer water. It resulted in countless injuries and even HOSPITALIZATIONS. He's far too unpredictable and dangerous to be left alive… we must take a stand against this wild animal!" Sonic looked up from the piece of paper, to see everyone else in the room had their own copies.

"You gotta stoop real low to write something like this. I don't trust anyone who knows the purple water is called 'Mega Mack' off the top of their head," Sonic growled, crumpling the hit-piece into a paper ball and tossing it aside. "What a load of garbage."

"Who would want to make up lies about Knuckles? He doesn't have any personal enemies here that I know of, but…" Tails sighed. "People from all over the place are participating. Knuckles is pretty secretive, so we might need to track him down and ask if anybody's out to get him."

"Sonic the Hedgehog? Is that really you?" A voice asked from behind Sonic. 

Sonic spun around to see a platypus in odd clothing. He too had a piece of the anti-Knuckles propaganda. "Yeah? Who else would it be?" Sonic asked, squinting and crossing his arms. Tails shielded his face.

"You'd be surprised. I certainly didn't expect the real SONIC to be participating in these games. My name is Doctor Starline, and I saw you… ahem… 'debating' with Knuckles the Echidna during the game. He seemed to have a Mega Mack-related injury as well, which makes me question the legitimacy of this missive," the platypus said, showing Sonic his copy of the letter. "If Knuckles knew the dangerous substance in the water, I imagine that even he'd be more careful. Considering the recent claims made against you over Shadow the Hedgehog's critical injury, I was wondering if this series of allegations against your friend group holds any water… perhaps if it all comes from the same source."

"It's all bogus. Don't worry about it," Sonic groaned. He attempted to tear the paper out of Starline's gloved hand, but Starline held on tightly. The paper stretched as Sonic tried to pull it away.

"Ah-ah, Sonic. That wouldn't be wise," Starline sneered, a smile stretching across his bill. "After all, my scan is nearly complete." Starline finally released the paper. "Strange… searching my personal flash drive, this handwriting style doesn't match any of the ones I have on record. Not yours, your friends, or even your enemies." Starline went into deep thought. "I have been collecting this data for the past ten or so years… I wonder if I missed someone?"

Sonic scowled, tearing the letter in half. "I couldn't care less if someone's gossipping about me, but spreading dumb rumors about my friends is where I draw the line. I gotta find who's doing this, pronto."

Starline shook his head. "You SHOULD care. I'm an avid viewer of the Dodon Games Archives. There's always a certain game, you might even say a SPECIAL game, where the stakes are higher than any of the others combined. Its outcome could decide the fate of Knuckles the Echidna… any of us, potentially."

"Oh yeah? Whatever it is, I'll win and keep anyone from messing with Knuckles. Protecting my friends is what I do," Sonic replied. Starline smacked his lips, displeased.

"If only it were that simple. After all, you and Knuckles are not on the same team," Starline sighed. The lights shut off.

A lantern shone down onto an old, dusty podium that wasn't officially in use anymore. "Hey there, players. How are you enjoying the tournament? I know the Dodon Games can be a very exhausting experience. Tensions are high, your hunger for revenge is all you can think about," Stake the Mosquito walked out of the darkness. A chill went down Sonic's spines. "That's why I'm here. Your votes have been tallied, your voices heard. Now, it's time to play ANOTHER GAME." Stake began pacing around the podium, placing fairly large featureless dolls onto the stand. They each had red orbs attached to their forehead with strings. The red orbs began to glow.

"Today, we have three nominees. Three of the most hated participants currently in the running to become champion." The dolls began pounding like hearts, secreting a strange, squelching paint-like substance that slowly gave them character and color. Stake grinned. "Those who have deceived." One of the dolls turned into Iron Queen. "Those who have killed." One of the dolls turned into Penumbra. "And finally…" The paint crawled all around the third doll. Giving it purple eyes. Long, flowing dreadlocks. Red quills. "Those who we just plain don't like." The doll had turned into Knuckles. Sonic stared down Stake. "Please accompany your vote with a brief statement on why you chose who you did. Your voices matter, they dictate which one of them will die today. Vote wisely," Stake chuckled. Everybody turned to their teammates. Sonic watched as Tails took one last glance at him, and then joined the Team Dark huddle.

"Sonic!" Trip whispered, grabbing Sonic's hand. She began dragging him towards the other side of the room, where Penumbra was leaning against the wall. "They're gonna kill Peni, Sonic! They can't just do that, right, Sonic?! We can't let them do it, Sonic!"

"Slow down, Trip," Penumbra giggled, eyeing the dolls on the podium. "They're just toys. Besides, if anyone tries to come after the real me, they'll be sorry."

"Yeah, is there really anything to worry about?" Sonic asked.

"Of course there is! My family used to practice this old technique called 'Avatar'. It lets the user create spirit clones of anyone they want, but they need to have the actual person and an object to host the soul double," Trip said, zipping between Sonic and Penumbra and shaking them. "The host usually takes on the appearance or some traits of the person being cloned. But there's a catch. If the host is destroyed, then… the original person usually dies too." Penumbra glanced at Starline. It seemed he was listening in.

"Just like how the Ancients transferred their souls into the Koco," Sonic muttered. "I wonder if that could work on…?"

"Alright, I've heard enough," Penumbra sighed. "We should obviously vote for Iron Queen."

"Iron Queen? What did she do, again?" Sonic asked, looking over to Team Dark. Knuckles and Iron Queen seemed to be arguing.

"So why'd you spray me with that acid?!" Knuckles shouted, shooting his dulled, bandaged fist into Iron Queen's face. "Look, I can hardly move my hand!" Iron Queen held her cracked helmet, scowling at the echidna.

"I didn't do that!" Iron Queen yelled. "I was a whole three stories down, someone already attacked me with a bunch of Wisps by then!"

"You deserve to be on that podium, deceiver!" Knuckles roared.

"I'm gonna be just fine! Everybody knows what you did!" Iron Queen argued.

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I DID!" Knuckles yelled back, holding out his hands. He didn't have the letter that everyone else did.

"Where is Rouge when you are in need of assistance? What would Rouge do?" Omega groaned, putting his head in his metal hands. Tails hid behind him. Before the two hotheaded teammates could beat each other up, Omega grabbed both of their heads and held them back. "I'm not designed to keep the peace! Stop fighting or, I'll, uh, processing… take away your privileges to keep and bear arms for a WHOLE WEEEK!"

"She turned on her own teammate," Penumbra giggled. "What a concept."

"Hey, don't get any ideas," Sonic said. "I wonder if I can just… not vote?"

"Me too, I don't want anyone getting hurt," Trip mumbled, adjusting her rusty helmet.

Suddenly, two gavels hit the podium. "Order! We say order!" Two identical kangaroos exclaimed.

"Order? Who gave you two randos authority?" Sonic asked, brushing his spines. "Was it Dodon Pa? Eggman?!"

"This is an unofficial game, hedgehog," one of the kangaroos said. "It is wholly community-run, and is not funded or recognized by Dodon Pa."

"Therefore, anything goes," said the other kangaroo. They both stood up, assuming an authoritative stance over the rest of the participants. "My name is Hip."

"Mine is Hop."

"The final voting begins NOW!" They slammed their gavels onto the podium once more.

…

"I think the answer's obvious. I pick the Iron Queen," Sally Acorn said, pointing at the Iron Queen Doll. "She's responsible for so much oppression back on Erius, and she's far too deceptive to be kept alive even in the confines of the games." Iron Queen smiled smugly. Most of the other players had made their votes, and she was trailing behind the two other participants…

"Arright, listen up. I think ALL of them should get the death penalty," Nack said, crossing his arms. "Iron Queen's annoying, the spider scares me, and people keep saying Knuckles when they mean to say my name..."

"I don't know," Big said, staring off into space. "I don't think anybody should get hurt…" Big looked at each doll. He pointed at the Iron Queen doll. "Can I have this one? She's green, like Froggy."

SLAM!

"Next up is… Sonic, Tails, and Amy," Hip droned. "Heh, a classic trio."

"Uhm… are you sure?" Tails asked, as Amy and Sonic eyed each other from opposite ends of the room.

"Very sure. Knuckles can't vote, he's in the running," Hop replied.

"Oh, of course, but—!" Sonic exclaimed. SLAM! The three covered their ears. Sonic looked at Knuckles. The echidna nodded. Sonic gave him a thumbs-up.

"We aren't teamed up, though," Amy whimpered. Hip and Hop glanced to each other, slung their arms over the backs of their chairs, and groaned long and hard.

"That doesn't matter. You want to be sent to the back of the line?" Hop asked.

"No!" Sonic shouted.

"Then you'll make a DECISION," Hop replied. Sonic glanced to the scoreboard. Knuckles and Penumbra were tied, and Iron Queen was trailing behind by two points. Sweat beaded up on Sonic's forehead.

"I vote Peni the Spider," Amy said. Sonic's heart skipped a beat.

"Amy! That's my teammate!" Sonic hissed.

"She killed Shadow," Amy spoke, not even looking at Sonic.

"We don't even know that," Sonic grumbled, clawing his hands in frustration as Amy went back to Team Rose's spot and the gavels slammed down once more. Penumbra was now one point ahead of Knuckles. Sonic crossed his arms, feeling something strange in his chest. A feeling of rage as Amy went back to talking with Cream and Big. "You're such a PAIN!" Sonic shouted. 

Amy finally seemed to acknowledge him, as she tensed up. She turned away and walked out of the room. Sonic's eyebrows unfurrowed, his hands slowly unclenched. "Sonic?" Tails asked, reaching for his best friend's shoulder.

"Don't… I'm fine," Sonic sighed. He walked up to the podium. "Just to double check, this game isn't officially endorsed... right?"

"Correct, sir," Hip said.

"So I can just take these?" Sonic asked. Hip and Hop looked to each other.

"Repeat?" The two kangaroos said in unison. Before they knew it, Sonic had scooped up all three dolls and zipped to the exit.

"So I CAN just take these!" Sonic laughed, rolling the dolls from arm to arm. Iron Queen gasped, Knuckles and Penumbra smirked. "Seeya at Dodon Pa's office!"

"Stop him!" the kangaroos shouted, Hip leaping over the podium and Hop running to Stake's room.

Sonic bolted through the strange maze of the complex. "I hate to be a tattletale, but…" Sonic laughed through his teeth. "I also love being a pain to people who deserve it! Now… where's that tanuki?" Sonic looked ahead, seeing a crowd of other participants trying to stop him. "I made a wrong turn somewhere… oh well!" Sonic ran them down like traffic cones and crashed through the walls, holding the dolls of his friends safe in his arms as he broke through concrete and metal alike.

Sonic shot right out of the building, and crashed onto a Deco City highway. From up above, he could see the landing strip the shuttle came in on. Nearby was a giant golden castle, standing tall above the purple city around it.

"Guess that's Dodon Pa's castle," Sonic muttered, leaping down and hitchhiking on the back of a flying car. Just then, somebody landed behind him. Not with a slam, they were almost silent. Sonic spun around to see who it was. He couldn't tell, they had a mask on. Before he could figure out what was going on, they had knocked him down. The wolf stared down upon him with their mask's optic, and pointed an alien gun at the Iron Queen doll in his arms.