Dancing in Star Light

"That damn thieving hedgehog!" Robotnik grumbled under his breath. "I don't know how the Chaos Emeralds ended up being stolen out of the Robodoom, and I certainly don't know how they ended up in his hands… but I will take them back by any means necessary!"

Robotnik cleared his throat, then hit a button on his microphone and tapped the soft foam surrounding it. Starting a broadcast from his royal suite in Hotel DeBlanc. A broadcast that covered every intercom in the city of Star Light. "Hello, my good people! Welcome back to another episode of Robotnik Rants! There's nothing more splendid than meeting a national hero, but if you ever see my former associate, Sonic the Hedgehog, on the street, that's no good! So what can you do in this situation? First, hide. Don't run. He will catch you. He's a menace to society, and will likely kill you without hesitation as he is known to do! He's a trickster, a wild card. But if you get the chance, sucker punch… or better yet... shoot him and his two-tailed sidekick in the back of the head with your government-provided pistol. Most important of all, tell a police officer or Swatbot! That concludes today's Robotnik Rants."

Robotnik turned off the microphone. "Sonic won't be doing much… he's probably hiding away in an alleyway right now like the sewer rat he is. But rest assured, Sonic. You won't have to be scared much longer. Because soon, I will find you."

Sonic hopped from rooftop to rooftop, over the multi-colored city lights but far below the stars where this had all began. The Death Egg was visible in the sky just like the moon. But no longer would it hurt Sonic. No longer would he let anything hurt him. He felt a sense of great relief. The weight that had been beating down on his shoulders his whole life had not been removed, it had been lifted. And now he was stronger because of it. The future was looking bright for him, and Tails.

Sonic shot through a window of a building, then another, and as the shards of glass sparkled and fell around him, it felt like the world had been turned on its head. No longer did the rules apply. It had been like that for a while now, but he only now truly realized it. He could go anywhere. Do anything. And nobody could stop him. He felt truly liberated. He had broken free of his chains, and now was headed towards his new life.

When time resumed and he landed, Sonic spun around in and ran through oncoming foot traffic, as Tails flew above the pool of robots hesitantly. But soon, he too stopped hovering and joined in on the unorthodox dance, bashing some of their metal heads in. The Swatbot's spotlights on them made them feel like they were the stars of a show. The cacophonous sirens from the now armed robots sounded like nothing more than cheering as the flashing lights bathed everything a shade of bright red. Still, Sonic and Tails were completely unfazed through the gunfire and adrenaline. Truth be told, not even death could take this sweet dream away from them. Robotnik may have controlled an entire country, he may have controlled a legion. But Sonic and Tails controlled themselves. They controlled their thoughts… their little pieces of the world as they saw fit. Nothing more, nothing less. And it was such an indescribably invigorating feeling. They weren't heroes like they had aspired to be since youth, they were too unlawful and made of chaotic freedom. They weren't villains like they had been reduced to ever since they joined Robotnik's forces, they had left that life behind.

They were just people. Trying to make their way in this wrong, cruel, polluted and dying world. And they were having a damn blast doing so. Sonic didn't care about much of anything, he was at his most powerful. In body, he was tired and almost drunk on this feeling. In mind, he was likely ill, and certainly scarred by years of lies. But in spirit, he was strong, unstoppable. More than most people could ever be. More than what most people could consider acceptable in this sterilized day and age. The people with the most potential to overcome it all, are the same people with nothing left to lose.

When they had made their way through the tides, they were covered in oil and had left a trail of faceplates, nuts and bolts in their wake. When they took off, it was the only sign they were ever there.

Sonic kept on running through the city. Running around loop-de-loops, grinding down escalator rails, and avoiding blasts of fire from the faulty exhaust system. But soon, all of these modern-day upper class luxuries began to fade away. The city was over and done with. After one final stretch of desert, the reality finally sunk in.

They were now at the demilitarization zone.

This was the final obstacle in their way. The scrap-filled brain-child of Robotnik, a giant mechanical torture chamber to scare anybody away from leaving his land. His world. Because one person gone was one less worker, and one less worker was a good few dollars out of his pocket. Buzz saws to cut, metallic slabs to crush, fire spouts to burn. And so much more. If someone found themselves captured here, Robotnik would personally make their lives Hell. It was carefully crafted to be precise and painful enough to break even the strongest of wills. But Sonic and Tails weren't prisoners. Instead, they were runaways. And they were going to break through this place, and they would never look back.

"You ready, Sonic?" Tails asked, gripping Sonic's hand for a sense of comfort as he stared up at the giant fear factory. "This is it."

Sonic took a second. If he failed, this would be the end. Not only of his escape, but of his life. Tails' too. If he failed, they would both die horrible deaths. He stared into the complex with a determination. Determination to survive and get out of there. He'd come so far. He'd done so much. And though he was starved, hurt, tired, and his life up until recently now seemed trivial and full of deceit, he knew he could live a better life. All he had to do, was run.

"Yeah, I'm ready."