Sonic ZQ, Volume 2: A New Friend

Chapter 21: Escape! The Dark Forest

Snake Village: 7:40AM

About a few minutes after he was brought in, he had woken up in a hospital. He had looked around the unfamiliar place, before closing his eyes and sighing. Upon opening them up again, his next sight was Trixie, who happened to be the person that treated his wounds.

Boom Sonic: Ugh... What happened...?
Trixie: You were knocked out cold. Takeru brought you back here and told us what happened. Thankfully, your injuries weren't major, so we were able to treat you with ease.
Boom Sonic: Urrgh. So that's what was going on, eh? Guess I was a bit "washed up" after that time...

Trixie just looked at Boom Sonic in a mixture of confusion and disappointment, to which Boom Sonic shook his head and jumped out of the bed.

Boom Sonic: Anyways, I gotta go. I have a feeling something's up...

Afterwards, he hopped off the bed, and dashed out of the hospital to the east, leaving behind a blue streak and a gust of wind.

Forest, 7:45AM

After surviving the ambush, Takeru ran into a forest, which seemed... slightly different from most others. He came to a skid, and looked around the forest, and to his delight, seemingly nobody was there. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his body, before beginning to think of what just happened.

Takeru: Sheesh, that was harsh... Where did they even come from anyways...? Who were those people...? It doesn't seem like they're on my side, but from the destruction of those badniks, it's clear they're not on Eggman's either... Why would they even attack us anyway? What spurred them on to try to... kill us...?

Boom Sonic arrived, coming in at max speed. He seemed heavily concerned, though the tone in his voice, as well as the look on his face, said otherwise.

Boom Sonic: Hey, Takeru!
Takeru: Sonic! Glad you came through... You're not gonna believe what just happened...
Boom Sonic: I had a hunch. Thankfully ya didn't stick around for too long! ...Though... You seem injured. Moreso than before. You okay?
Takeru: It's not much, Sonic!

Takeru's smile tensed up, and then turned into a frown. His earlier joy before had turned into distraught; the hunters were back.

Takeru: ...But moreover, I think we really should get going. We're not safe here.
Boom Sonic: Why is that?
Takeru: Look up, and then around you.

A pair of eyes showed up among the bushes, multiplying by 2s, then 3s, and eventually 4s, signifying the amount of people surrounding them. Both aerially and on the ground, they had been completely engulfed. Boom Sonic did not like the look or the feel of this place, and he didn't seem happy anymore...

Boom Sonic: What's going on here...?
Takeru: I don't know... But I think our best bet is to start running, lest something bad happens to us here. On three, 'kay?
Boom Sonic: Okay.
Takeru: One...

Takeru placed his hands on the ground and Boom Sonic planted his feet, taking up a stance. As they looked around their surroundings, the sounds of guns reloading could be heard reverberating across the damp forest.

Takeru: Two...

Boom Sonic's shoes had begun to glow as well, his fur beginning to glow a faint blue color, his eyes glowing a bright green color. His face spelled not one of fear, but one of determination.

Takeru: Three!!

Immediately, they begun sprinting, and the aforementioned guns hit only the previous positions of the two heroes. They navigated their way through the forest, staying on their guard. About a minute later, on Boom Sonic's side, he had found a ramp that just lead to higher ground. He took up that path, and lost those who were just gunning for him just now.

Although they lost Boom Sonic... Takeru was still there. One of the soldiers had immediately reminded the rest that their main targets were "the orange hedgehog" and "the thief". And so they went back to group up with the other squad, which was still aiming for Takeru.

Takeru took up the longer path of the forest. He had noticed that up ahead were two walls... and just below them was a pool... of lava. He took some time to question why and how that got there in the middle of a forest, without burning it, before jumping from wall to wall and continuing his run down the long path, while the group chasing him just came to a halt. They didn't have the vehicles to get over that gap.

Takeru eventually made his way through the forest... only to arrive at Chaos Chemicals. Once again, something felt off... Takeru felt a strange aura coming from the east side... though, nothing was there...

Takeru: What's going on here...?

Laughter could be heard echoing through the place... Takeru looked around him, though again, nothing was there. He had come to the decision to just ignore it and press on.