27 Island Runaway

"Wooooo-HOO!" Sonic hollered, as he flew along atop the repurposed escape pod they took from Little Planet, on the left wing. They were so close to the ocean's surface, the hardships of Giganima and the entirety of the Iron Dominion nothing but a distant memory. They couldn't go back if they tried. Iron Queen had them all officially exiled when they returned her back home to her palace. Right after she single-handedly broke the giant chain holding Little Planet down to Erius. It had been about a week since then. They'd been stopping at scattered islands only when necessary to stock up on food for themselves and fuel for the escape pod.

"Wooo!" Amy replied in kind, with her still synth-y voice. She was along for the ride on the other wing of the escape shuttle. Amy knelt down to Tails, who was piloting the escape pod. "Where are we going?"

"We're just flying until we find land," Tails answered. "That's what Sonic said to do, so I hope we find somewhere before our fuel runs out." Tails heard Sonic jump off of the wing. "SONIC, NO!" He cried. Amy watched in horror as Sonic flew far behind because of the momentum. He splashed into the ocean, only to shoot a blue lightning beam forward from his hand that wrapped itself around the wing. It pulled him up and in a little, but the playful smirk fell off his face when he started to skip across the water's surface like a stone in a lake, dragged along by the pod. He sounded like he was trying to say something, but all that came out were blubbers and gasps for air.

"Is Sonikku going to be okay?" Amy asked, watching the events unfold.

"Ugh… he'll be fine. He is Sonic, after all," Tails groaned, redirecting his eyes in front of him. Amy looked forward too. They screamed, as in front of them was an island that wasn't in their field of vision before. They flew right past the beach, through a collection of leaves and twigs, and finally, the pod crashed on a slight bump. It turned on its head, Amy tumbled onto the grass. Sonic was flung over the pod by the lightning bolt and smacked right into the ground. Tails remained relatively safe due to his buckled seatbelt. He had only been turned upside-down. "Whoa… is everyone okay?" Tails asked. "My head's spinning."

Amy got up from the grass. "I'm okay… I think…" she squeaked. "My body is very hard and strong!"

"Phrasing, Amy," Tails sighed. "How about you, Sonic?" Tails turned to Sonic, whose head was stuck in the dirt. Sonic then jumped out from the ground, and hopped back to the pod, off-balance. He looked startled for a second. "What's got you all scared?" Tails teased, smirking.

"There's someone in the dirt…" Sonic replied as soon as he caught his breath. He looked tense. Everybody stared at the dirt, smiles falling and a creeping feeling making its way up their necks. Suddenly, a spike-knuckled fist punched up from the ground, attached to a thick red arm. Tails hastily undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the pod, joining everybody as they backed away from the fist. The dirt began to part and crumble as a red figure dug their way out from underground. "Hey! Who are you supposed to be?" Sonic shouted.

Standing there, was a red Erian belonging to some kind of species Sonic had never seen before. He was a little bit taller than Sonic, but shorter than Amy, and had a checkmark-shaped white patch of fur on his chest. He had two large spiked knuckles protruding from both fists. "Oh! Hello there, visitors," the red Erian greeted in a tough yet calm voice. "Sorry for the startle. I'm Knuckles the Echidna. But just call me Knuckles. I'm your dedicated tour guide. Good job finding Angel Island! And welcome to my home."

"Uhh… thanks? Knuckles?" Sonic replied. He marveled at all the green grass, living plants, and clean shores. This was a sight he would expect on Little Planet, which was just unchecked nature and flowers before he got there. But here on Erius? Sonic was under the impression that the whole world had been industrialized until it was lifeless and dry. Showed how much he knew about the world beyond the Robotnik Empire. At least Tails seemed to be in the same boat.

"Thank you!" Amy exclaimed chipperly.

"No problem," Knuckles replied. "It looks like that thing you guys came in on is totally wrecked. But, eh, who needs it? You're already right where you need to be. C'mon, I'll show you around. Echidnaopolis is this way."

"Sonic, do we just… follow him?" Tails whispered. Amy had already begun to follow Knuckles. "He seems weird."

"We have nowhere else to go," Sonic answered. He began to walk forward, signaling Tails to come with him. Tails jogged forward.

"Yeah, thanks to you distracting me," Tails scolded as soon as he caught up.

"Hey. You know I've always wanted to go skurfing," Sonic argued lightheartedly.

Soon enough, the four had reached an elevation. Sonic decided to stray from the path and jump atop a small mound of rocks. He gazed off into the ocean. "Maybe it was a good thing we crashed here after all," Sonic stated. "We were running pretty low on fuel anyways. There's nothing out there."

"You weren't sure before?" Knuckles asked, glaring at Sonic. He appeared offended. "Angel Island is the best place in the world! There's no better place to crash land!"

"Maybe so," Sonic replied. He looked back to the horizon. As he did, he felt his heart sink. The clouds in the distance were starting to part, as a menagerie of circular silhouettes made their way through them. Sonic was about to say something, when the sounds of wildfire sirens began to blare. Even at such a distance, they overpowered his voice. And his ears.

The silhouettes escaped the clouds, revealing large metallic orbs with staircase-shaped tubes on the top and a needle smack dab in front. Sonic recognized those anywhere. Lord Robotnik's Flame Crafts. "Run!" Sonic shouted to the others, knowing how lethal just one could be. And there were many of them. Everyone had trouble hearing Sonic's voice over the sirens. Even Sonic himself. But everyone could read his lips and the fear in his eyes just fine. They all ran off, Sonic forcing himself to slow down so he could ensure the safety of everyone else. Not a moment too soon did they enter a small cave, and hide behind a wall. In that instant, Sonic heard bombs being shot out of the tubes on the heads of the Flame Crafts. The bombs hit the ground and set the forest ablaze. Tails and Amy jumped at the sound, as Sonic and Knuckles stood their ground. A blast of fire flashed across the cavern from the explosions outside. Just as they thought they were safe, a little metallic needle poked in from around the corner.

Surprisingly, Knuckles sprung forward and punched the Flame Craft hard, making a sizable split across its side with his sharp knuckles. It began to explode, as Knuckles tore a piece of metal off of its outer shell. He drove it forward and haphazardly wedged the piece of metal shell horizontally in between the thin cave walls. "Quick! Down here!" Knuckles ordered as he jumped down a chute. The others stood there, dumbfounded. They looked between the pathetic pile of scrap metal that was once a mighty Flame Craft before Knuckles got to it, and then to the piece of it between the walls. It was jamming any kind of attack from the way they came in. It wasn't a genius move, yet it was practical. But it wouldn't hold for much longer. There was already another Flame Craft using a wave of heat to try and melt it down from the other side. Sonic, Tails and Amy all gathered their bearings and followed Knuckles down the chute.

They exited the cave after Knuckles. Sonic dashed ahead through the firey remains of the once thriving forest. The air was thick with smoke. "So… does he always move like that?" Knuckles asked, shocked at Sonic's sheer speed.

"Yeah, you get used to him running ahead," Tails replied.

"Oh no! How am I supposed to catch up to my Sonikku if he runs off without me?" Amy butted in, distraught. She watched as Sonic screeched to a halt in front of a cliff. The rest of them caught up after a while of the masked malcontent standing completely still. Tails peered over the edge of the cliff.

"You could always trap him between yourself and a body of water," Tails stated, staring down into the murky pond not far below. "He… can't swim."

"Thanks, 'foxboy'. I'll try that," Amy replied.

"'Foxboy'?" Tails asked, offended.

"What was your name again?" Amy asked cluelessly, looking down at Tails. They then stared over as Knuckles pushed Sonic into the pond below. Sonic yelled as he fell, followed by a large SPLASH as he plunged into the pond. Amy gasped, and jumped in after him.

"Knuckles! Why'd you do that?!" Tails cried. "I just said he can't swim…! And I don't know if Amy can either."

"Relax, it isn't that deep," Knuckles replied, jumping in. Tails turned around at the sound of rock shattering, to see that a Flame Craft had broken through the ground at the expense of its jet thrusters. The large metal ball was rolling right towards him at great speeds, spewing flames everywhere! Tails immediately dove in, splashing into the water. Right after he did, the Flame Craft rammed into the stone wall, plunging into the water's bed right behind Tails. He swam towards Knuckles, Amy, and Sonic. They were all just striding along the water on the ground. Sonic looked to be having an especially hard time dealing with this. Tails looked frustrated, before surfacing as soon as he saw a spot to do so. Everybody jumped out soon after, taking large gasps of air. Sonic especially.

"So… none of you can swim," Tails groaned, facepalming.

"Quickly! We need to get out of here and warn my city!" Knuckles shouted. He scampered forward, breaking another Flame Craft with a single swing of his fist as soon as it got in his way.

"Yep, we're following him," Tails stated. The three ran off, seeking protection from the armada in the form of this new friend they had made.