I'll keep on Running

She sits atop the bed, face pressed up against that small window, tail thumping against the weathered material. Forget the hunger pains and agonizing wait for delivery (and permission to participate in dinner tonight) - this was way more interesting!

Perhaps she should have been apprehensive of the speeding streak of blue that whipped around their camp - but she loved how, with each time it passed, the autumn leaves burst into the air from the momentum, and then slowly came back to the earth in their lofty, colorful descent.

Her imagination ran wild with all that it could be - and she was only slightly disappointed when it skidded to a near perfect stop, just short of some wild flowers. Not a unicorn. Not a poltergeist. Not any sort of critter from papa’s bedtime stories, but a Mobian, just like her.

Scrambling to the door, she opened it, nearly tumbling out as she called out to the stranger, as loudly as she could.

“ARE YOU THE PIZZA GUY?”

Hm. Sonic tapped a gloved finger against his chin, tutting to himself as his verdant eyes scanned the area. It was pretty, sure - the scenery was exactly the kind of unpolluted, healthy landscape that he was working so hard to protect. It was a joy to see. But it wasn’t supposed to be here.

If Sonic had emerged from the star posts where he was supposed to, this would’ve been a clearing where his team had landed the Sky Patrol, ready for pickup. He’d been anxious to meet up with his friends again, and figured that a quick dash through the special zone as a shortcut was a great idea. Normally he’d be right. Normally he didn’t get lost.

So what could’ve possibly—

His ears perk as he heard the sound of a door click, ready to run and catch the pup for the split second that it seemed like she was going to fall — just to relax from his wound-spring state when she seemed to catch herself. The sincerity behind that question brought a smile to his face, and the blue hedgehog opted to approach her so the two of them weren’t left yelling at each other from across a meadow.

“— Nah kid, sorry!” Though a child not knowing of him was uncommon, it wasn’t impossible. Sometimes, they didn’t get it until he introduced himself. Though, as he got closer, he couldn’t help but notice that the pup was looking a little... Gaunt.

His brows furrowed in worry slightly. Had she been out here alone? Wandered off from her caretakers, forced to look after herself for... Who knows how long? She certainly looked it.

Sonic gives a faint, playful shrug.

The city was weird, today. In fact, the only familiar thing about it was the smog - and even that was off, hanging at body-height like a low-lying fog rather than looming in the sky as per usual. In fact...

Was there always this much trash everywhere?

As if on cue, just to emphasize how much the current situation was not right, a hulking badnik of... Some kind rounded the corner. Each heavy step it took sent tremors through the ground, and on one shoulder it carried a massive metal hammer. As soon as it's red optics landed on the spaniel, a low, drowning digital voice boomed from some sort of internal speaker.

"ORGANIC LIFEFORM DETECTED."

Boom, boom, boom. The super-badnik was lumbering toward her now, and even if Carey was perfectly capable of getting out of this situation on her own (honestly she probably is, just look at her) - She wouldn't have to. Because almost as soon as that computerized alert rang out, alongside calling metallic allies, the badnik had caught the attention of someone else. With a sound akin to screeching tires and a distant sonic boom, a blue streak came tearing down the alleyway, skidding to a stop just in time to slide out from between the titanium titan's massive feet - revealing itself to be a slightly shorter, slightly-squishier-faced scruffy blue hedgehog, who promptly blew a raspberry at the super-badnik before bolting back the way he came.

"HEDGEHOG. PRIORITY. ONE."

… Go home with him? The thought was pretty nice, actually. He hadn’t had that kind of generosity in years–but the second he hears Tails, fear grips his senses.

    “N-No. No I– I can’t. I don’t… I don’t wanna hurt Tails anymore. I can’t guarantee either of your safeties… I know that– I know that it was me that– that had them all roboticized and scooped. I know it was me, even if– even if it wasn’t me me, it was still enough of me that did it.” He’d sweat if he could, rubbing one of his quills repeatedly.

    “I-If I– If I did that to another Tails… I’d never forgive myself. I’d never be able to–Oh Gaia, I really…” It was starting to hit him in waves of grief, of despair. The things he’d done. Spinbot covered his face, shoulders shaking. “I’m– I’m sorry.”

Scooped? Sonic hadn’t heard that one before, and he wasn’t sure if he’d like to change that. Just the implications were gruesome enough - and he was sure that any morbid questioning on the matter would only serve to bring more anguish to his roboticized twinsie.

The speedster was at a loss for what to say, for a moment. He was dreadfully aware of the fact that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend what his counterpart had been through. If it had been him, he likely would’ve tried to find some kind of self-destruct function - but that would never even cross his mind, now that he was dealing with someone else (that was kind of him, but not, but still-)

Dangerous or not, this guy was hurting - he was hurting bad, and there was no way Sonic was going to leave him to rot here.

Rather than a pity party, though, Sonic opted for a playful shoulder-bump. “Hey, y’think we’d let you try any funny business?” He said with a grin - that particular kind of infectious, reassuring smile that had comforted many a person who was lost and scared.

“I’unno what happened here - But I’m sure it wasn’t just you who messed things up so bad. Things are fine back home, so if you hitch a ride with me, you’ll be among friends who totally outnumber you in the case of any Jekyll-n-Hyde shenanigans. S’not the first time I’ve had to knock someone down for their own good, and if we manage to undo whatever computer-voodoo Buttnik put in your noggin’, you’ll be your own hedgehog again!”

There was a brief period of silence.

“... Well! Kinda! But still!”