Chapter 11: Lizards and Hedgehogs

Sonic and Tails continued their journey through the forest. Tails flew through the air above Sonic. He swooped down closer to his friend. "Where…where should we look first?" Tails panted, trying to keep up with the hedgehog.

Sonic scratched his ear. "Heh! You know what? I have no idea!" he chuckled.

Tails sighed, his shoulders slumped. "Well, we gotta brainstorm some…" He trailed off as a loud rumbling sound filled the air. The ground began to shake.

"Oh, come on!" Sonic slid to a stop. "Not another earthquake!"

Tails landed beside him. He glanced nervously around the forest. His eyes widened in shock as he stared up into the trees. "Sonic, look at that!"

The blue hedgehog looked up. A gigantic, mysterious figure was approaching them. The trees fell away at its feet as it drew closer. Flickies took to the sky to escape it. Sonic squinted. The creature was difficult to make out, as it was silhouetted by the sun. But when the thing turned its head for a moment, Sonic could make out a long, lizard-like jaw, filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The creature turned its head back towards the hedgehog.

Tails gulped. "C-can it see us?" he stammered.

At that moment, the creature bent its knees and sprung into the air. It was headed straight for them. Sonic smirked. "I guess so!" he said.

There was no time. Tails took off into the air, trying to escape the creature. "SONIC! LOOK OUT!"

Sonic charged away, his feet disappearing into a red blur. He shot straight up a tree and balanced himself on top of it. He wobbled back and forth slightly. There was a thunderous crash as the creature landed beside him. Sonic was thrown out of his tree as it snapped it half. It seemed as though the forest had just exploded around them. Bits of bark, leaves, and rocks flew through the air. Trees collapsed. A cloud of dirt covered the area.

Tails gasped and propelled himself down to the ground. He stumbled through the wreckage, the cloudy air making it difficult to see much of anything. "Sonic!" he called. "Sonic, where are you?" A strange grinding sound broke the silence. Tails looked in its direction. A large metal fist was rocketing towards him. Tails gave a startled yelp and jumped out of the way. The fist collided with the ground, spraying up even more dirt. It was stuck there for a moment, but slowly lifted itself out of the earth. Tails sat very still. He stared at the robot arm and tried to catch his breath. Suddenly, he had an idea. He pulled himself to his feet and began spinning his two tails rapidly. Slowly, the dust began to clear until finally, he could see it. Standing in front of him was a massive, red robot. It looked as though it was modeled after some sort of lizard or maybe an alligator.

A few yards away, Sonic emerged from a pile of branches. He grimaced as he spat out a couple of leaves. "Okay, seriously? That's the second time this week I've almost been buried alive!" he stretched his arm behind his head. He glanced up at the robot, not looking all that surprised. "So, what's your deal?"

The robot raised its spiked fist into the air. "I am Red Lizard! I've been sent here by Dr. Robotnik to exterminate you, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Heh heh!" Sonic grinned. "That's what I thought!" He turned to Tails and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, buddy! I'll take care of this!"

Tails blinked. "Are you sure, Sonic?" he asked.

"Absolutely!"

Tails shook his head. "We should probably work together. He looks pretty tough."

Sonic snorted. "Really? This guy?" He pointed. "I've beat eggs tougher than him!"

"RRRRRRGH! SHUT UP!" Red Lizard stomped his feet angrily. "JUST LET ME EXTERMINATE YOU ALREADY!"

"My, my! So impatient!" Sonic snickered. "All right, then! Let's go!"

Red Lizard raised his foot to crush him, but Sonic side-stepped out of the way. "Really? Is that all ya got?" the hedgehog taunted him. "It's like you're fightin' in slow-motion, dude!"

Red Lizard growled angrily. He swung his fists through the air. "HOW'S THIS?!"

Sonic dashed out of the way, avoiding all of his blows. "Still pretty slow!" He charged towards him and went up his leg.

Red Lizard spun around, trying to find the hedgehog. "HEY! WHERE'D YA GO?!" He looked over his shoulder, then looked up. Sonic had run all the way up to his head.

Sonic grinned smugly. "Ya know, the flashy entrance was pretty impressive, I'll give you that. But, man!" he shook his head. "You really suck at the whole 'exterminating' thing!"

"DO NOT!" Red Lizard plucked the hedgehog off his head with his huge metal claw.

Sonic dangled upside down by his foot. "Whoops! Should have been paying more attention there…."

Red Lizard squinted at his enemy curiously. His eyes began glowing green.

"Get out of there, Sonic!" Tails shouted.

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut as the green light washed over him. But after just a few moments, the light turned off. Sonic blinked. "Well, that was annoying," he said. "What was that all about?"

"You've ingested quite a few nanites," Red Lizard informed him.

I got some nanites in my stomach? Sonic thought. That must've happened when the civic center collapsed on me…

"Why would you eat nanites?" Red Lizard asked. "I thought rodents like you ate bugs!"

"Bugs?!" Sonic stuck his tongue out in disgust. "EWW! No way! I eat chili dogs!"

Red Lizard scratched his head in confusion. "Chili dogs? Why…Why would a hedgehog eat….? I don't…RRRRRRRGH! THIS BOTH CONFUSES AND INFURIATES ME!"

Sonic shook his head. "Whoa, dude. Take a chill pill."

"I'M GOING TO CRUSH…" Suddenly, Red Lizard's arm snapped off. Sonic fell to the ground, still trapped in the robot's fist.

Tails ran up to him. "Sonic! Are you all right?"

Sonic struggled out of the fist and stumbled to his feet. "Yeah, I'm good. But what's…?" He turned back to Red Lizard. The robot's limbs were being torn to bits by a strange green blur. In just a few moments the robot was reduced to a pile of rubble. "Whoa!" Sonic blinked. "Good thing whoever did that is on our side!"

"Guess again, Blue!"

"Wha…?" The green blur collided with Sonic, carrying him off his feet and smashing him into a nearby tree. Sonic groaned in pain. He could feel a fist in his stomach, holding him against the tree. Sonic glared at his attacker. "Scourge!"

The green hedgehog grinned. "I gotta say, I really missed you, wuss! You're my favorite punching bag!"