My piece...

I managed to find my way to the main district, having to shove passed a guard to get there, who tried to explain to me that I needed to answer some confounded riddle before he could let me through.

Really? I must be the only sane one here after all.

It appeared that this entire area was taking advantage of being built on water, with bridges linking the streets, boats as quick transport, and fountains decorating the center of each section.

I honestly don't care.

Hopping down the steps that were obviously designed for Humans and not someone of my stature, I look around for a place that could be deserted so I could initiate the next step of my plan.

I head left just as soon the mechanical whirring of Omega reaches my ears. The city seems to be built in a full circle, so I should have plenty of space to elude him.

Something catches my eye and I see one of those springlike objects Shadow had used while pursuing me back at Flame Core.

Remembering how he had been catapulted from platform to platform, I figured: "Oh, why not..?"

Not my brightest moment, really. I blame the endorphins that were coursing though me during my chase. I never think clearly when I'm on a rush of any kind.

All I did was step in front of it and pressed my hand to it so test it's structure. It bounced back into me with enough force to send me in the air.

I'm not proud to admit it, but I actually shrieked in surprise, having no idea what I just did and where I was now. The next thing I knew, I hit dirt and grass of some kind, landing with a grunt, feeling a shockwave of force spread through me. I probably just landed face first...

Lifting my head up and sweeping grass and dust from my face, I see that I was thrown to the front of a cave that stood out in the water, and surprisingly, I was on a mesa of dirt and grass that was right in the arc of trajectory of that spring. Almost as if that was planned...

Once the shock wore off, I couldn't help but start a wheezy giggle of relief, which escalated into a loud cackle that echoed off the cave entrance as I sat up and threw my head back, arms wrapped around myself, gasping for air.

That was probably the most exciting thing that's happened for as long as I can remember.

"Come and get me, Robot!" I shout across the water at Omega as he looks back at me, twisting around in fury. He and I both know I'm well out of range to be shot at. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the water! Afraid of rust-!"

I shut up immediately as he jumps onto the spring and uses it more gracefully that I had. I roll out of the way before his heavy body can crush me, and I scramble to my feet, glaring.

"As I said before..." I say in a calm voice, before turning around and heading off into the cave. "Catch me if you can!"

You think that was childish? Really now? What, I can't make this interesting for myself? Who wants to be boring? I'm actually enjoying this, so you should be happy for me...

The deeper we reach into that cave, the darker it gets. As I said a while back... I'm not too trilled about absolute darkness.

However... I do get an edge in the darkness on account of it being my element. I can move faster among the shadows, and to a degree... Manipulate the environment. Also, a shadowed area requires less energy for me to use to do what I would have in broad daylight. Here, it doesn't matter if half my energy is still depleted. What luck!

I melt into the shadows and reform further in, tossing another challenge at him.

"You're a walking arsenal, right? I should be an easy shot then!" I shout. "Go on! Get me!"

He fires a shot at me, and I melt back into the darkness, the shot leaving an unseen scorch where I had been.

I reform not too far from where I had been.

"I thought you were fast enough to keep up with that hedgehog friend of yours!" I taunt. "What's keeping you from tagging me?"

Another shot and I disappear, then reappeared right on top of him, my feet on either side of his head, arms behind my back and leaning over to where I can be seen in his line of vision.

"C'mon now... I'm right in front of you. It can't get any easier than this..." I say in a voice dripping with smugness. "I'll even wait five seconds so you can get an edge. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

I know that given his design, his arms would not be able to reach near his head, and I gleefully watch him struggle to do so while I count to five. I do it slowly even, just to grind salt in his wounded pride.

"-Five!" I shout and jump off and land in front of him, holding a hand in the air casually. "Oh, too bad! But thanks for playing!"

I threw my head back and laughed wickedly, my voice reverberating off the cave walls.

I am so ecstatic right now, almost manic even... It must have been that thrill from that spring that triggered a state of hyperactivity that was almost unheard of in me.

Omega quickly readied a shot at me, and I waved a finger in front of him disapprovingly before he could discharge it.

"Ah, ah, ah!" I mock scolded him. "It's my turn now! You have to wait until I'm done!"

It's obvious he's had enough of me. He fires the shot anyway, against my wishes, and I disperse myself into mist before it can strike me.

"Cheater!" My voice barks angrily amid the chaos.

It turns out it wasn't a cave after all. It was a tunnel that lead to a sandy beach filled with the most baffling looped natural structures, and various wildlife I had never even heard of or cared to learn about.

And, God... It was so damn bright. The sudden change in lighting between the two places made me feel like my eyes were on fire, causing me to stop just outside the exit once I led my pursuer there, crying out in shock as I clapped my hands to my face, trying to make it stop.

I hear you laughing at me. Stop it. I don't find that humorous at all. It hurt. A lot...

Consider this: a Mobian hedgehog's eyes take up a good amount of space on their head. That's a lot of sensitive optic nerves right there. Thousands. Which are all now screaming at me for being such a careless idiot...

Once my vision clears enough to see blurs and shapes, I struggle to find where I should head next. I am a bit unnerved to be virtually blind at the moment, but I reason to myself that my sight should be normal in a few minutes. Unfortunately, I don't have a few minutes to just stand there. You know... That whole being chased by Omega thing?

Something that burns strikes me in the back, sending me out in the open, rolling in a dazed state until I'm sprawled under the shade of a rather large boulder. I can almost hear the mark it left sizzling, but strangely, the burning fades away quickly.

I'm now shaking. Not from fear or pain, but with rage. How dare he!

Once my eyes finally focus, I can see that the crystal coating on my hands is back. There's almost a weightless feeling spreading through me, and everything clears and enhances. Even the sound. It's so surreal, but I like it... Even if I'm startled about liking it.

A low chuckle starts from deep inside me, escalating into a a roar of insane laughter as Omega stops in confusion, possibly wonder what I must be on, if it were actually possible for me to be "on" something to begin with. I can't even keep myself upright, and simply sit there, slumped while I claw at my crystalized quills.

Though I haven't heard the buzzing bugs in my head for a while, my ears are ringing, possibly from me being hit like I was. Thankfully, I can safely say that the ringing is a normal side effect to being blasted with a beam of energy that exploded in a burst of sound. Ha. Can't argue with me now.

I look up with a hint of a smirk worked into my features. I wiggle the fingers of one hand in a small wave.

"Bye bye..."

And I allow myself to sink into the shadow of the boulder to let myself pop up elsewhere so I can wait and plan further before I start feeding him lies.

I end up in another section of the beach area, which had several crablike robots, no doubt from that human who seems to want me. They start to advance, but I clap my hands, starting an orb which I enlarged before throwing it the center one.

They all exploded, even the ones no where near the stricken. They must have had a mechanism that triggers a self destruct if the strongest one is taken out. What a stupid design failure. If that's what I have to expect from my pursuers, then I should be fine...

I guess nothing to do now other than wait...

Oh, joy...