Chapter Text
Sonic felt something about poking his head, which caused him to stir. He waved his hand above him, pushing whatever was poking him away, and then he jumped to his feet. "Ah, you're awake!" Sonic, however, raised a finger to shush the speaker. He had more important things to check.
Like his appearance.
Sonic spun around and looked into the nearest window, his eyes narrowing to scrutinize their reflection. Thankfully, nothing looked too out of place or terribly damaged. His short blue quills were slightly ruffled, sure, but his pudgy, round body was free of nicks and marks, and Sonic's red shoes were still skid free. Even the gold buckles glistened brightly in the sun.
Sonic leaned down to polish the buckles, and then smoothed the out of place spines back into place. He leaned forward, nodded, and without looking away from his reflection Sonic snapped his fingers and pointed at the person who was speaking to him earlier; a lanky borzoi with a black fur coat, wearing a puffy sweater and a hat. There were other animal folk like him; dogs and cats and bird and lizards either going about their day are watching Sonic with curious eyes.
"O-oh, well, I'm glad to see you're alright! You had a rather nasty fall just now…" The borzoi lady said awkwardly. Sonic turned around and saw a crater about his size on the street. "You landed right next to me! I almost had a heart attack, hah hah haaaah…" The borzoi's laugh awkwardly trailed off when Sonic's only response was a deadpan stare.
"Uh… say! What caused you to take a nasty fall like that, anyways. And more importantly, how did you survive? You don't look like a student…" the borzoi asked him.
Sonic raised his hands to answer, but faltered. He crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and began to think. What was he doing right before this? It was something Eggman related, definitely; why else would Sonic end up waking up in a weird place without any knowledge of how he got there? Plus, the animal people around him didn't look like Islanders.
"Oh jeez, you don't remember?" The borzoi asked him worriedly. Sonic nodded, but then he shrugged nonchalantly. "I think that's a little concerning, don't you agree? Do you have a concussion, or…?"
Sonic shook his head. Then he waved at the borzoi and began to walk away. "Ah! Wait, don't you think you should go to a hospital in case—!"
He didn't let the dog finish; he bent his knees and took off, starting a brisk jog that move faster than the other cars on the road. It's to figure out where this city started and ended. That shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
STAGE 1
Miracle Street
Mission - Get your bearings in this strange new place.
Sonic's casual jog eventually led him to some sort of commercial district. More animal people lined the streets with stalls, most of them selling produce or hand-made crafts. While he rushed through the streets, he slowed down to grab an apple from a parrot vendor. The parrot squawked in surprise and could do little else aside from watch the Blue Blur run away.
With his breakfast procured, Sonic jumped onto the awnings of a few buildings and used them to launch himself onto the roof of the a nearby mall. He twirled in the air because why not and landed on the edge. He sat down on edge with once foot crossed over the other and began to eat the apple.
With a lazy expression, Sonic black eyes scanned the sprawling city beyond him. The tall buildings and abundance of cars reminded him of the human cities on the mainland, but with none of the blaring sounds or pollution to go along with it. He wondered why that was.
Once Sonic reached the apple core, he looked around for a trashcan to drop it in. He eventually found one next to a uniform wearing human girl. He reared his arm back and tossed the eaten apple.
It landed on the human's girls head. Sonic winced; his throwing arm wasn't as good as Knuckles's.
Shrugging, Sonic turned to start running again, but he paused when he heard shrill voice coming from the ground. He looked over the edge and saw the same girl he saw earlier with a megaphone in one hand on his apple in the other.
"Did you toss this at me?!" She demanded to know. Sonic gave her a so-so motion with his hand; it's not like he meant to hit her. "Why are you naked!?" She then asked. Sonic pouted at her. He was wearing his gloves and shoes! What more could he need, pants? Hell no!
"That's it! Come down here right now!" The girl then shouted and pointed at the floor in front of her. Sonic gave her cocky smirk, and gave her a peace sign. "Hey, don't you walk away from me! Running from the authorities is illegal!"
Unfortunately for her, Sonic had already turned around and resumed his jog. He ran across the roof of the mall and jumped off. He uncurled out of his ball and landed on his feet with his arms outstretched and a satisfied smirk on his face, and then took off.
The road ahead was mostly straight, as well as boring. The only times he felt any excitement was when he willing ran in front of a car and swerved out of the way in the nick of time, but doing that more than once felt a little mean to the drivers.
He slowed down slightly and started running alongside the cars instead of past them. It was slow, sure, but the surprised gasps from the drivers was more than enough to satisfy him. Not only that, it let him study more of the new city he found himself.
The most obvious thing to note was the large tower barely visible in the distance. It was incredibly tall, the rising beyond the clouds and disappearing into the baby blue sky. Sonic wondered how much it cost to pay that building's lights.
The second point order were the large, blue rings that orbited around tower. Some were interlocked with each other, and others orbited around other rings. They lazily moved across the sky, occasionally casting shadows on the ground. Sonic wanted to run across them. They probably weren't made of glass (and thank goodness for that, otherwise those shadow might've been beams of light that set things on fire), so they should be durable enough for him to land on.
While Sonic was distracted, he ran into a car and was squashed against the windshield. Well, that was embarrassing. Sonic pried his eyes open and spotted two young girls in the seats, both of them with police uniforms and Halos over their heads. Are cops supposed to look his age?
The girls quickly recollected themselves. The one in the passenger seat pointed at Sonic and shouted, "YOU!"
Sonic pointed to himself. 'Me?'
The girl nodded. "Yes! You! You're evading police arrest! We're not going to let you get away again!" The driver nodded, her Halo bobbing above her.
Sonic stuck out his tongue, making the passenger seethe with rage, and then rolled off the windshield. He landed on the floor as a tight ball of spikes and rolled downhill. With the coppers chasing him, things should be more exciting. Sonic quickly uncurled and stopped at the next red light in the middle of the road.
Cars honked at him, but Sonic didn't wait move for them. He remained behind the crosswalk, glaring at the red light, impatiently tapping his foot. Then, suddenly, he dashed away. The SUV behind him tried to take his place, but Sonic quickly returned, now wearing a jacket, a hat, and a twirly mustache on his nose and sitting on top of a bicycle.
The sirens coming from the cop cars signaled the appearance of the cars. They drove up next to him. The driver's side window was lowered, revealing a severely unamused underaged cop. "Really?" Sonic tilted his head, feigning confusion. "Listen, get in the back, dude. If you do not we'll shoot." The driver leaned back, allowing her partner to aim a pistol at Sonic's face.
In response, Sonic got off his bicycle and tossed it inside the cruiser. The driver was hit by the wheel, causing the car to jerk, and her partner also accidently fire at the wind shield. With them distracted, Sonic took a few steps back and rammed his body into the front wheel, causing it pop.
Then he started to run away again, but not as quickly as before. He wanted to experience what those coppers had in store for him.
The next intersection was blocked off; Sonic was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the cops managed to mobilize. They had troops in front with riot shields and batons, while those behind them were armed with pistols. Only one of them was packing a shotgun.
Sonic was disappointed. The cops noticed him approaching, so the ones with riot shields knelt down and tensed. What they didn't expect was for Sonic to suddenly kill all his momentum and charge his signature Spin Dash. He rocketed forward with a sudden burst of speed, knocking over the first defensive line like they were bowling pins. Sonic uncurled and landed on the nearest cruiser with his arms outstretched.
"Open fire!" He heard someone shout. Sonic dropped to the floor and began to breakdance, spinning his body with his shoulder while kicking out his legs to dodge all the bullets. Once the first wave of gunfire stopped, he used his arms to push himself up.
Curling up again, Sonic bounced off the heads of a few more cops, causing them to face plant onto the floor while he kept advancing forwards.
Halfway through the blockade, the shotgunner finally pumped their firearm and took aim. Sonic quickly dashed underneath a cruiser to avoid being blasted. "Coward! Don't hide from me!"
Sonic smirked. He spun backwards and jumped, smacking the cruiser onto it's side, and then spindashing into it. The girl shrieked and fired her gun again, destroying the roof while the undercarriage smashed against her and snapped the cruiser in two. She was still standing, but also heavily disoriented.
To finish her off, Sonic sped in front of the girl. When she noticed him, he turned around and slapped his butt at her while sticking out his tongue. "Why, you…!" The girl fired again, but Sonic quickly ran out of range. She did it again, turning to right to try and shoot Sonic. He ran circles around her, his body turning into a blue blur as the shotgunner kept firing and missing while spinning on her heel.
Sonic stopped after a few moments, rubbing his knuckles against his collarbone and then checking his gloved claws, while the girl dizzily waved her gun around. "'Mmn not… gonna let you… bleh—!" She fell down on the floor, with her Halo spinning around her head and swirls in her eyes. He looked around with a triumphant smile, counting all of the girls he had just defeated.
He noticed the shotgunner had opened her eyes. Sonic leaned over her and closed his fist; he extended his pinkie and thumb and shook his hand next to his ears. 'Call me.' The girl stuck out her tongue and pressed her face against the concrete street.
Sonic turned around and kept jogging. The cops didn't seem like too much of a hassle to deal. Maybe if he were dealing with actual practiced and trained officers that didn't look like they got allowance money from their parents, they could given him some difficulty.
When Sonic started running, he didn't bother to follow the street. He kept turning at random corners, or following cars until they stopped at a curb and got out of the vehicle to scare him. While currently his main point of interest was that impossibly tall tower, he didn't feel the need to rush over their immediately.
The blue hedgehog eventually stops at an empty park. Sonic looked around, admiring all the colorful flowers and the big, strong trees growing inside. He inhaled deeply, and smelled only fresh air despite how close he was to the city.
Maybe if Eggman wasn't a big jerk he could build cities like this, too.
Sonic plucked a blue flower off the floor and sniffed it. It smelled nice. He placed the stem between his teeth and let it hang from his mouth like a cowboy biting onto a piece of straw. After that, he closed his eyes and relaxed, content to let the day pass by until something woke him up from his nap.
SONIC got through
STAGE 1
Time Bonus: 2000
Ring Bonus: 3200
Cool Bonus: 10000
Total
15200
Sonic didn't know for how long he had slept when he woke up, but he assumed it must've been for a while. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon when he pried his eyes. He watched it dip further beyond the horizon, while twirling the blue flower in his fingers.
Then he popped it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "Tasty," he commented. His ear twitched when he heard footsteps, and a saw girl with pink hair in a mostly white uniform walk up to him. Her eyes were closed.
"You know, if you're hungry, you could always walk up to a vending machine or even a convenience store. You don't have to munch on flower like a… well, I suppose you are an animal, aren't you?" She told him in a polite, if slightly mocking voice.
Sonic raised an eyebrow at her, and didn't respond. The girl's smile became a little strained at that. "Ah, I see. You're giving me the silent treatment. I'm not exactly fond of that." Sonic just rolled his eyes and glanced away. He rested his cheek on his right hand, and shooed the girl with the other.
"Hah hah… I can't exactly let you go, now can I? If this were just for the petty theft, public indecency and littering, I may have let you go with just a slap on the wrist. But avoiding arrest? Assaulting my poor underclassmen? Destroying police property? I can't exactly let that go, can I?" The girl opened her eyes, revealing green eyes with goat-like pupils in them.
"I ought to make an example out of you," She said, her kind, aloof voice belying her sinister choice of words. "To make sure nobody ever thinks they can take out my forces, and…" Sonic's ear twitched again when he heard rumbling coming from behind him. "I also need someone to test out the new toy I commissioned. You seem like the perfect test subject!"
Sonic jumped off the bench with an eager smile on his face. He flashed the girl a smile and turned to where the noise was coming from. "Well, I'm so glad you're eager to be squashed. Oh, Gorilla Warframe!~"
The rumbling sound came closer. Two large metal hands grabbed tree trunks and pushed them aside, ripping their roots out of the ground in the process. A humanoid figure was seated atop of large, triangular tank treads. It had a wide, circular torso and proportionally thick arms. The right one had a massive railgun attached to it, and the yellow pauldrons had rocket launchers attached to them.
Gorilla Warframe's head popped out of the body; a knight's helmet with a deep blue plume that fluttered against the wind. Two bright yellow eyes flashed on, and glared down at Sonic. The hedgehog looked up to meet the robot's gaze. Instead of feeling any fear, Sonic simply wiped his thumb under his nose and tensed his legs.
Looks like he's going to have fun after all.
STAGE 2
Boss - Gorilla Warframe
The massive tank revved it's tank treads against the ground to a mimic a powerful roar, and then jumped onto a bed of flowers in the center of the park. Sonic looked to the side to find a 'Don't Stand in Grass' sign. He heeded the instructions and followed Gorilla while taking the park walkways.
As he casually jogged over to war machine, Gorilla raised a fist and slammed it down; with a spin, Sonic evaded, and he then jumped into the air, successfully predicting Gorilla's arm swipe to trip him up.
With a growl, Gorilla fired it's rocket launchers, which turned in the air and came careening back down. Sonic dodged the first two easily by simply running away. As for the third, he jumped up and kicked it back, causing the rocket to explode against Gorilla's head and making the whole mecha tip over on it's side. While it was down, Sonic managed to jump and slam down on it's head twice before being knocked away by it's right arm.
With it's left, Gorilla managed to push itself back up. It drove backwards, driving onto the walkways while Sonic still in the air, and began to charge it's railgun. Once the hedgehog landed, he quickly dove to the right to avoid being blasted by the railgun. Gorilla charged another blast, so Sonic revved up with a Spin Dash and launched himself forward. Gorilla wasn't fast enough to shoot Sonic or catch him with it's arms to prevent it's head from being smashed against for the third time.
Sonic ricocheted of Gorilla's head, which allowed it to come up with a new plan. While the hedgehog was charging another Spin Dash, Gorilla drove backwards on and turned, causing Sonic to fly past him when he released the charge. Gorilla fired his railgun again, which Sonic ducked under.
The mortar exploded, launching away trees and incinerating vegetation. Sonic narrowed his eyes at Gorilla, who was busy charging another railgun shot. He ran forwards, and at the same time, Gorilla launched more rockets from it's shoulder-mounted launchers. Like before, Sonic kicked one back, and at the same time Gorilla fired from it's rail cannon.
The explosion sent Sonic flying into the air as well as knocking the other missiles off course. The one the hedgehog kicked back was knocked away by Gorilla's free hand, which exploded in the air. While Sonic spiraled in midair, he reached out to grab one of the missiles and turned it around. It struck Gorilla in the back, making it tumble forwards. Sonic landed again and managed to score three more hits to it's head before it can pick itself back up again.
Once it was up, Gorilla jumped to the center of the park again, and released another growl. It's head and arms retracted back into it's body, while chest compartment opened to reveal a large red gemstone that looked like it could fire lasers.
Sonic's guess was proven correct when it began to hum. At the same time, it started firing rockets from the mounted launchers with reckless abandon. Sonic weaved between them and jumped into the red core, but bounced off a protective glass. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
The gemstone was soon fully charged, and released it's powerful laser. The war machine jerked back when it fired. Sonic's eyes widened when he saw the beam flying towards him. He looked around and grabbed a nearby missile, allowing him to drag it out of the way before he could be fried.
Gorilla started to charge again, while releasing more missiles. Sonic tightened his grip on the one in it's hand and tossed it at the gemstone. It exploded, cracking the protective exterior around the gem. Sonic quickly grabbed another falling missile and threw it at Gorilla again. When it exploded this time, the glass shattered and exposed the core of the robot.
Another beam was fired, which Sonic dodged by rolling away; it tore up the ground and ignited the grass around it. By now, most of the park center was in flames. Clouds of dust and ash rose from the sky and blotted out the sun. If Sonic didn't finish the fight now, the fire might spread to the rest and burn down the rest of park.
Sonic bent low and took off with a powerful stride, reaching Gorilla within four steps. He curled up and slammed his body into the red core, loosening it from the main body slightly, which he bounced off of. Gorilla attempted to charge one more beam before it was taken offline, but Sonic was in the middle of charging a Drop Dash in the air.
Once he landed, Sonic was already racing towards Gorilla. The machine's core sputtered as it tried to open fire again, but the blue lur was far too quick for it. Sonic barreled through the gem and burst out the other side of the robot.
It began to tremble. Electricity began to crackle underneath it's arm it shook. Small explosions burst out from it's neck and shoulder sockets, sending the head flying into air. Then, the robot's torso snapped off the tank treads rolled onto the ground with a thud.
Sonic watched the steaming pile of scrap for a few seconds, waiting for a large explosion. There was none, for a moment Sonic wondered if that was more disappointing than the park burning around him.
SONIC got through
STAGE 2
Ring Bonus: 800
Time Bonus: 4000
Cool Bonus: 9000
Total
13800
GRAND TOTAL
29000
The robot dealt with, Sonic started kicking dirt into the fires to put them out. Thankfully, most of the damage was confined to center of the park. Even better, the patch of blue flowers that Sonic plucked from was also still around. He made sure to take another sniff to block out the scent of smoke before going back to put out the rest of the fires.
Once he was done, he heard that pink-haired girl's footsteps again. He turned and crossed his arms over his chest while his foot impatiently tapped the ground. "So, you survived. That's infuriating." Her green goat's eyes bored into him as she pursed her lips. "Fine. You win this round. I admit defeat."
Sonic winked at made a V-sign with his hands. "But if you get in my way again, I won't let you go so easily. Mark my words, rodent." Sonic's cocky smile turned into a frown when she turned around and began to walk away.
To get petty revenge, Sonic waited for the girl walk in front of a pile of ash, and then in the blink of eye sprinted over to her and shoot out his leg, causing her to trip and fall headfirst into the ash. "AHK—! You damn—!" The girl sputtered, coughing out burnt bark and grass from her nose and mouth. She looked around and saw Sonic whistling innocently while rocking back and forth on his feet.
He cutely batted his eyes at her when he noticed her staring. The pink hair just glared at stomped away. With her back turned, Sonic made an L with his fingers and placed it on his forehead.
Once she disappeared, Sonic looked back up at the imposing tower in the distance. Sonic had a feeling that, whoever that girl worked for (she doesn't look important or fancy enough to be a major boss herself), she was probably working for someone who lived at the top of that tower. That person probably runs the city.
Since he more than likely turned the government into his enemy in the span of thirty minutes—he's proud of the new record—Sonic thought to himself that he should hang out somewhere else to get the cops off his back for a while. He picked a random direction and started running.
He didn't stop until the concrete street started to become covered in dust and sand.