Sonic Runaways

Inside their dorm, Penumbra clutched her wound, trying to heal it with silk. But no matter how much she used, the open seam in her flesh still bled. "Oh geez… I-it looks REALLY deep," Trip mumbled, on the opposite end of the room.

"I should've guessed Sonic wouldn't exactly be gentle with the Avatar Dolls," Penumbra sighed, applying more Healing Silk. "That… or he's still upset about what I did to Shadow."

"Don't say that!" Trip screamed. "Sonic wouldn't hurt you on purpose. We're all friends!" Penumbra looked away. "We… we're friends, aren't we, Peni? You trust me! So trust him a little!" Penumbra bit her lip, trying to keep the pain inside.

"You're right. We're all part of a team," Penumbra said, standing up and limping out of the dorm. "I have something I need to take care of. Stay put, Trip." Trip watched as the door slammed shut. She looked to the floor.

Knuckles watched the live footage as Sonic blasted out of the observatory, the wind trailing behind him carrying Dodon Pa to his feet. "Security!" Dodon Pa cried, clutching his nose and sobbing to himself. Knuckles growled.

"What is Sonic DOING?!" Tails shouted, panicking. He minimized the window and tried to call Sonic.

"He's so careless. He's holding onto a doll bearing MY likeness!" Iron Queen exclaimed, grabbing Knuckles' attention. "If it gets damaged just because he wants to beat up that cutie tanuki, I'm going to cry tonight!"

"He's trying to save us, you big brat!" Knuckles shouted. "And by the way, if he was willing to punch Dodon Pa, the old man probably had it coming." Tails nervously waited for Sonic to pick up.

"Tails?!" Sonic exclaimed through the Tails Electric. "Sorry, on the run right now. What's up?!" He reached the bouncy room, and bolted for the open window.

"You can't just attack royalty like that! I know your thing is 'sticking it' to any semblance of authority and all, but Dodon Pa didn't really do anything! At least… not that I know of!" Tails shouted. Sonic dove through the curtains, into a street full of blaring cop cars. "Is there something we're missing over here? Because now would be a GREeEeAT time to tell me!" Sonic dashed behind a parked car, looking around the corner at all the police officers searching for him. Blinding lights shot through the dim, foggy parking lot. Hanging up, he began to pace back and forth between two cars.

"I'll talk to you later," Sonic typed to his best friend. As soon as he looked up from his Tails Electric, Sonic saw the tanuki in the driver's seat glance to him. Sonic waved with a big smile, then pointed to the left. The driver glanced to his phone, at a headline about some hedgehog attacking their king. The tanuki then reclined, pointing right at Sonic through the window for the cop on the other side. "Alright, just for that…" Sonic kicked off the parked car and spinned into the distance, leaving mud on the window.

…

Amy sat on the roof of the complex, completely isolated from everyone else. "Why is nobody coming to talk to me? Do they hate me too?" Amy thought, dangling her feet over the ledge. Looking at the cars below. "Why am I thinking like that? Sonic doesn't hate me. That's so mean to imagine!" Amy sniffled. "He… loves me… he's just mad at me, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Somebody whispered from behind her. Amy looked back, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Oh. It's YOU," Amy grumbled, getting up and looking at Trip. Silence. Amy put her face in her hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound awful. There's just a lot on my mind."

"It's okay, don't worry," Trip whispered, clanking around. "I didn't know anyone else was up here. I should be the one apologizing."

"No, it's fine. I needed company anyways," Amy sighed, walking back over to the ledge. Trip carefully sat down beside her. "So you're new, right? Where do you come from?"

"Me? I'm from the Northstar Islands," Trip replied, scratching the back of her helmet. "It's a little scary leaving, but I owe Dodon Pa a lot, I think. He helped move all the factories there over to the center of Gallery Island, so the natural parts of my home can stay just how they are."

"Northstar? No way! Isn't that where they make Rings?!" Amy exclaimed, beaming. Trip jumped a little, pinching her own legs. "I always thought ring-based clothing looked so cool, but I was never able to buy it. My grandma got me my first Inhibitor Rings straight from there, but it cost so much that she couldn't get her medicine for quite a while. I bet ring stuff is way more affordable on the Northstars, since you can just go and pick it up in person. I begged Tails to stop by Golden Capital when we were on our way back from the Starfall Islands, but everyone else voted on Water Palace. Except Sonic, he wanted to go to Spagonia. So I guess neither of us got what we wanted." Amy frowned.

"I wouldn't know about any of that, I've never really been to the big industrial areas," Trip sighed. "I'm a native, so I'm not supposed to go past the jungle limits. It gets really dark between there and the carnival zone, anyways." Amy frowned harder. "Amy, are you—?"

"Sonic hasn't come back yet. I wonder if he'll even want to talk to me when he does," Amy blubbered. Trip looked out across the whole city.

"Why wouldn't he? You... love each other, don't you?" Trip asked, fumbling her hands.

"Doesn't he like you now?" Amy grumbled.

"What?! HE DOES?!" Trip stammered, kicking her legs.

"Never mind. I don't really have the right to be pissy. At this point, I don't think we're together at all." Amy looked to her hand, felt the gentle wind slipping through her fingers. "I don't know HOW long I was in Cyberspace. Weeks? Months? Years? It looks like the people who died during that time got reset when The End was destroyed. The people who survived up until The End's attack don't know what me and the others went through. I DO. Everything felt so distant then, and now, it feels like I'm still stuck inside of Giganto." Trip looked at Amy, without saying a word. "Oh, why am I even saying anything? You probably don't care."

"Of course I care. I'm sure Sonic's not mad at you. Why would anything change? After all, you're Eternamy!" Trip exclaimed. Amy looked at Trip, as the world around her slipped into slow motion.

"What did you just say?" Amy asked. Trip scooted closer to Amy.

"Yeah, it's… something my family used to tell me about. Back home, there's this symbol called the Ouroboros. It's about destruction, and rebirth, and forgiveness and all these wonderful things! It looks like… a snake ring? I—" Trip rambled.

"No no no, the Eternamy thing," Amy said, standing up. Trip followed suit. Before grabbing Amy's hands tightly. Amy could feel Trip's rough biking gloves scratch against her palms.

"That's what I was getting at! You're ETERNAMY! I basically worship you," Trip exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Y-you're an Eternalist?!" Amy shrieked, backing up. She pulled her arm away. Trip didn't seem to get the message. She kept holding on.

"Kind of… I never knew much after my family left for the mainland! But now you're here! You're real!" Trip said. Amy tried to get away. "I can't wait to get to know—-!" Amy pushed Trip back, her fingers unlocked from around Amy's Inhibitor Rings. Trip recoiled backwards, over to the ledge. She tried to catch her balance, she tried not to panic. She tried to set her foot on the ground, and…

… She tripped.

Amy watched as the sungazer plummeted off the side of the building, to the streets below. Trip disappeared below the clouds, her shrieking descending into a muffled echo. A strange feeling welled up inside Amy as her breathing grew faster. She clutched her chest.

"I didn't…" Amy's thoughts ran through her mind. "I didn't know that would happen." Amy looked over the side of the building. "Trip?"

Sonic kept on running, not sure where he was even going. Was anywhere safe? He could imagine most of everyone had heard all about what he did. A crash. The window next to him shattered from the force of whatever had been making all that racket from the other side of the street. Sonic stopped in his tracks. He was… at the complex? "I didn't know this building was in a bad part of town. I guess this city's glam is just for show!" Sonic looked into the alleyway the loud noise came from, getting ready for an attack.

"Wait… what?" Sonic asked. He looked down at a beaten-up helmet, the goggles were smashed. He knew exactly who it belonged to. Sonic staggered away, putting a hand over his mouth as a thousand different thoughts and emotions ran through his head. He couldn't yell. Somebody was sure to hear him. 

Sonic heard a distant sound, like tires screeching. He turned around to see a car parked in front of the alleyway. Somebody stepped out.

"You again?!" Sonic grunted, staring Doctor Starline down. "Did you do this?!" Starline looked down at the helmet.

"Ah… what a shame. I liked that one," Starline sighed. "I'm sorry to interrupt this delicate moment, but there's no time. You must come with me this instant."

"What do you want? An autographed bill?! Screw off!" Sonic shouted, picking the helmet up in his arms.

"Not particularly. I just wanted you to stand still for a second," Starline sighed. Sonic's eyes widened, before he was whacked in the head with a large cube-shaped hammer. He fell to the ground. His vision became fuzzy.

"Do you think we should've drugged him? My Multi-Tool Heel Spurs have a powerful Chaos Drive-based venom that works rather efficientl—!" Starline exclaimed, as Sonic tried to get up.

"No need," Whisper the Wolf mumbled, walking over to Starline. "The Color Energy in my Wispon is comparable to the emeralds themselves. He's down." Sonic's consciousness faded away.

"Hmph. Showoff," Starline grumbled.

…

"New toys…?" Dodon Pa muttered, staring cross-eyed at the Penumbra Doll Sonic had graciously given him. "I must say, I am fascinated by the idea." Dodon Pa twirled around his room, dangling the Penumbra Doll in front of his face. "The ability to control people… to puppet them… to have them." Dodon Pa corrected the doll's hair, brushing it back into place.

Penumbra walked through the grimy, toxic alleyways of Deco City. It wasn't very pretty in the places between tourist zones. She looked around everywhere, trying to find her way in the zigzagging maze. Suddenly, she felt her hair straighten out. No hands. No wind. She hissed, realizing she had been down this road before. She styled her hair back to her liking.

"To hold their limbs and lives ransom."

Penumbra glanced through a window, only to see a closed bar with a tanuki pulling down spiderwebs. She didn't feel welcome at all.

"It's such a great feeling, to know… that I never need to damage it. Their world is already in my possession, and this Penumbra Doll will make a fine addition to the Erius collection." Dodon Pa put the doll on his shelf, smiling.

Penumbra pointed her arm to the ground. She blasted a hole in the concrete, and used string to slowly descend towards an orange light deep below the streets. A feeling of dread overcame her. As if she was in grave danger. But she was the Darling Bounty Hunter. She knew she would be able to protect herself. She knew she had found the place she was looking for.

She landed in an underground tunnel. There were people talking somewhere in the forgotten bunker up ahead. With her legs coated in silk, she walked through an ankle-deep puddle to the metallic door, and walked inside. She was now face-to-face with Clutch the Opossum.

"Hello, Penumbra. You look… different from last year," Clutch muttered. He twisted his cane against the concrete floor.

"My hair's been disobedient today, I suspect Dodon Pa got ahold of that weird doll thing Stake made for me," Penumbra giggled. She then frowned, looking Clutch up and down. "Is that… blood? On your coat? I saw what happened on the stadium monitor, but don't you wash it?"

"Nope," Clutch said with a gross smile, closing the door behind Penumbra. "It usually wouldn't need a wash. But Dodon Pa's getting in the way of everything. Cramping my style."

"That makes two of us," Penumbra sighed, leaning against the wall. She smirked. "That sounds like something Sonic the Hedgehog would say."

"Of course. I've been spending some time with him," Clutch replied. Penumbra glanced at the green opossum. "The Dodon Games are just about the stupidest idea I've seen in my life, but they sure do bring people together. Can't knock that kooky tanuki for that."

"What are you saying?" Penumbra asked, shaken. Clutch began to walk down the stairs. Away from the second room on that floor, hidden from all the commotion. He unlocked a door, and showered Penumbra a huge, dark and cold room. Penumbra lifted an arm to Clutch's back. "I'm afraid you're not understanding." Penumbra's arm poked against Clutch's spine. "I want to know EXACTLY what you did to Sonic." Clutch snickered, as Penumbra scowled. She could feel him shivering. "Laugh all you want, I know you're scared."

"Heh… it's just cold in here," Clutch rasped, flicking on a lightswitch. "Observe." A distant electrical drone echoed through the room, as the light turned on to reveal a hedgehog fastened to a mildew-covered wall with strange color-energy.

"Sonic!" Penumbra cried, running towards him. He was bruised all over. Penumbra listened for a heartbeat. And… she got one. It was too fast. She looked up at his face. He was grinning, spit dripping from between his teeth.

"Hey, Peni," he grunted, between heavy and strained breaths. One of his eyes were barely open and twitching slightly in the light. Penumbra held her arms behind her back. "This is a little embarrassing, but I got jumped by a few crooks. But now you're here, so… I guess it's time to blow this joint, right?" Sonic's smile lessened as Penumbra looked over to Clutch. "Right, Peni?"

"You don't have to call me that, everyone here knows me," Penumbra sighed. Sonic frowned.

"Ooooof course," Sonic groaned, throwing his head backwards in exhaustion. He then looked Penumbra in the eye. "And here I thought what we had was special."

"You're a hostage, hedgehog," Clutch sneered, walking up to Sonic and blowing a cigar in his face. "I'd show some decency if I were you." Sonic smirked determinedly.

"If I had any decency, I wouldn't hang around in your mold-covered house!" Sonic laughed. Clutch hissed.

"Careful with him, you won't get anywhere like this," Penumbra scoffed. Clutch stepped back, and took a deep breath.

"Alright, Sonic. Here's the deal. Your friend Penumbra is part of something called The Dirty Victory. We're a group of hackers, cheaters. We don't like Dodon Pa, or the games he plays," Clutch said. "And we want 'em gone. We're thinking that with leverage like… say… your life, we can get Dodon Pa to call off the games. At least for this year. We aren't above offing the silly characters people back home click onto the channel for. Anything to hurt Donpa Industries, to be honest. Clutch walked back and forth across Sonic's vision.

"Also figured… 'Hey, that Sonic guy wouldn't stand for Dodon Pa's malarkey. He might be on our side. Let's give him VIP privileges.'" Clutch continued. "How does it sound? You play victim for the public… When really you're drinking for free upstairs, hangin' around with our ladies, and playing that old conglomerate for a fool."

"Unlike you, I choose to not go on camera and embarrass myself for pity points," Sonic replied. "Also, problem. I kinda punched Dodon Pa in the face, so I don't think he'd care if you killed me." Penumbra facepalmed. "But you're right. I want Dodon Pa out as much as you do. I'll help you sabotage the games… under one condition."

"What's that?" Clutch asked.

"You said you'd kill participants just to put a stop to the games. So leave my friends be," Sonic muttered, Spindashing out of his shackles and landing on his feet. Clutch grinned.

"Don't worry, Sonic. I won't hurt a hair on their heads, I can't promise you that they're safe from each other, though," Clutch sighed, turning away and walking to the door. "The games… they change people. But that's what we're trying to fix. So get out there, and mess stuff up."