Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, trademarks, locations, etc. are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, Archie Comics, Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima. "Green Grass and High Tides" is the property of The Outlaws. I claim no ownership to any element except original story content.


Green Grass, High Hills

Just north of the Great Forest, over the Turquoise Lake and beyond the Red Canyons, there was said to be a region of South Island that was completely unlike its more docile southern region. The green grass grew even greener, the trees and flowers more numerous and bizarre, and the color of the brown dirt morphed into a curiously checkered color of dark and light hues. Few Mobians settled there, for it was agreed that this strange and wonderful land never be tainted with civilization, but it quickly became a popular spot for family outings, children's play dates, and secret romantic rendezvous at night. Nobody ever really decided on an official name for the region, but most of the Island's younger citizens had taken to simply calling it the "Green Hill Zone."

Sonic gazed at his surroundings, memories of his childhood flooding back to him. The Green Hill Zone had been one of his favorite getaway spots as a younger hedgehog when Knothole became far too boring. The tall trees and exotic caverns provided plenty of opportunities to swing, run and explore. Some of the stranger rock formations in the Zone appeared to resemble a complete 360 degree loop, curving and twisting up and around before returning to the ground facing the opposite direction. Sonic's favorite activity whenever he was in the neighborhood was to take a running start and race up and around these "loops," letting his quills blow in the wind and his feet leave the ground in a brief moment of zero gravity. If only there had been a place like this around when his parents-

He stopped his train of thought almost instantaneously. No. He was not going to be thinking about them right now.

Shaking his head clear, Sonic took off, racing across the Green Hill Zone. The familiar colors of Green Hill soon became psychotropic blurs in the background. The world became an open book, beckoning him to drink everything in at once. His mind was suddenly free and insouciant again. It was as if he was somehow able to outrun his problems as easily as he could outrun one of Robotnik's swatbots.

…Of course, thinking of the evil doctor brought Sonic's mind plummeting back to reality again. He frowned, but kept running. As much as he refused to admit it, he wasn't entirely sure of what he was doing. Wherever he went looking for a settlement untouched by the mad doctor, the result was the same: empty remains of civilization with nary a soul in sight. Robotnik had been agonizingly thorough in his conquest of South Island, and now Sonic was left with nowhere to go, no one to talk to, and no idea of where the alien creep had ran away.

His only option left was to try and make his way to the summit of the island, a barren place where no Mobian had ever ventured to before and an ideal place for an out-of-sight, out-of-mind base of operations. It was a long shot, and a very long journey on foot, but he was pretty fast. Sonic would likely run into Robotnik long before the madman ever made it back to the summit, if he was really settled there in the first place.

Thankfully, the answer came quicker than the hedgehog suspected. After leaping over another ridge, Sonic stopped his pursuit just long enough to catch a glimpse of the path in front of him. Robots of every shape, size and color were scattered everywhere, dutifully and monotonously patrolling the area. Each was more or less a giant-sized insect or arachnid of some kind, including what he recognized as the Motobug robot from not long ago. There was no doubt about it—Robotnik had passed this way.

Sonic found himself grinning for the first time in hours. Sure, he had to chase down the evil doctor. Nobody said he couldn't have a little fun first.

He stretched his neck back and forth, trying to relieve some leftover tension, when he felt something brush against one of his quills. Startled, he reached for the offended area and wanted to slap himself when his fingers grasped the power ring he had picked up earlier. Forgot all about this thing, he mused, scrutinizing it with his emerald eyes and turning it around in his hands. How's it supposed to work, anyway?

His eyes narrowed in concentration, gripping the ring tightly in his fingers. Suddenly it began to feel warm in his hands, causing a tingling sensation to grow from his head to his toes. Fascinated, he watched as the power ring briefly glowed a bright gold… before disappearing completely in his hands, its sudden disappearance accompanied by a sparkle of light and a bright, high pitched chime that reverberated across the hillside.

And just like that, he felt energy coursing through his entire body, warming his fingers and causing his fur to stand up on his skin. It wasn't much, really, but for the briefest of moments, Sonic felt like he could do… anything.

With a reinvigorated spirit and the added strength of the power ring, the confident hedgehog looked up at his oblivious foes. He lifted his thumb and index finger to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. "Yo!" he shouted, "seen any dashing blue 'hogs around here?"

Almost immediately, every badnik in the area froze in place and turned its head towards the sound of the disturbance, meeting Sonic's jest with a loud chorus of "TARGET ACQUIRED." Dozens of sensor arrays and laser cannons flashed in his direction.

"Nope, didn't think so!" Sonic taunted, planting his feet firmly into the ground in preparation. With a smirk and a hop, he charged.

For all of his boasting, Robotnik had put together some pretty pitiful cronies, and the power ring wasn't making things any easier for them. With the grace of an acrobat, Sonic easily plowed into the nearest two badniks, grinding into the obvious weak spot on their heads and hearing a satisfying pop as a couple of grateful animals fled from their oppressors. He could easily feel the ring's energy giving him a slight boost in speed and a higher reception to sights and sounds, making the dismantling of every robot in the area a complete breeze.

Soon he found himself easily shredding through badniks one by one as he dashed through the Green Hill Zone, spinning through underground tunnels and zooming around loops until he was dizzy. Jump, spin, twist, bust a robot, rinse and repeat. Soon the fields began filling with scrap metal and small animals running in every direction, overjoyed at being released from their metal prisons. In the midst of all the chaos, Sonic was having more fun than he could remember having in a very long time.

After easily dispatching a large bee-like robot, Sonic skidded to another halt, taking a moment to look back at his handiwork. Not a single badnik was left standing as far as the eye could see, all replaced by dozens of dazed but free small chickens, rabbits and Flickies.

Sonic's grin grew wider. Even after that huge adrenaline rush, he'd still managed to actually do some genuine good. Nate would've been proud.

"Cake," he finally said, turning and dusting his hands off. He took a step forward…

…just as the ground beneath him collapsed.