Izzy: ::Reads over script from last chapter:: Boss! You're writing a ya-ya-YAOI!?!?!?!?!
Me: Yep.
Izzy: But you're a guy!
Me: Yep.
Izzy: And STRAIGHT!!!
Me: And your point…?
Izzy: B-b-b-b-b-but you...and me...and girls...and... ::Holds head:: Ohhh! The boss's randomness hurts! Well, now that we proved you really ARE insane, what's the coupling for this fic? You posted the last chapter so fast, you forgot to mention it.
Me: Oh yeah. I knew I forgot something. Anyway, although it will practically be mentioned in this chapter, the main coupling for this fic is Otto/Twister, which is also practically the only slash coupling that exists for this show. I certainly wouldn't mind reading fics for other couplings or just more slash fics in general for this show.
Izzy: ::Cringes:: Let's just start before I lose it.
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Last time on The Runaway…
(To the tune of "Escape from the City" [the music for Sonic's City Escape stage in Sonic Adventure 2])
Izzy: Greetings. I'm Izzy. What's my last name, you ask? Well, I'd rather not say for security reasons. Yeah... Anyway, I had just walked into a city called Ocean Shores. After exploring it for a bit, I got hungry. I went to a pier, which seemed to have a lot of stuff for fun. I didn't really care about that at the moment, so I tried to find a place to eat. While walking, I almost got ran over by this guy on a skateboard. After finding a place to eat, the Shore Shack, I left, but I crashed into another boarder. After apologies were dealt with, I was introduced to Otto and some of his friends and family. I left the pier.
It was then that I exercised a special ability of mine; the ability to run at near supersonic speeds. No, I'm not a hedgehog, though I've played as one, thanks to my creator. You can be rest assured that I have many more abilities, but that's for another time. I sped around town so fast that all anybody can see is a mere blur, if anything. I soon stopped at a very relaxing spot. I can't understand it, but I feel that my destiny may be intertwined with these people while I'm staying here.
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The Runaway Ch. 2: The Challenge
After having dinner and making one more dash through town, Izzy set out to find a place to stay. He couldn't possibly stay at a hotel because he had very little money on him. So, he started looking for a suitable place to camp out. He thought he should try the beach, but it's way too cold at night. Besides, they don't allow camping on the beach. He then went to the local park.
'Perfect.' He thought as he walked through the park. He long since took off his sunglasses and put them on his hat. He walked through the illuminated park for about an hour before finding the right spot to set up camp. It was by a fountain, protected by trees for privacy.
Izzy put his bag down and took out a box, which contained his tent and the means to put it up. He took out a hammer and a small electric lantern. He turned on the lantern and got to work. After about twenty minutes, he had everything set up. He crawled in the tent, took off his cape & went to sleep.
Elsewhere…
"In news of a somewhat lighter sort, earlier today, local skateboarder, surfer, hockey player, etc, etc, Otto Rocket and co. had a run in with what eyewitnesses say was a tall kid, about six feet tall, wearing a cape." The TV said, displaying pictures of this afternoon's happening. Ray was oblivious to the news report for he was snoozing. Eight hours of standing behind a surfboard made out to be a counter will do that to you.
"Man, they must be getting desperate for a story." Otto muttered rather darkly. He was getting a snack out of the fridge when he heard the story. Normally, he'd be psyched to be mentioned on the news, but he had other things on his mind. He started to walk into the living room to change the channel when the camera went back to the anchorman, who was just handed a paper.
"This just in, earlier today, people claimed to see a blur streaking past every single street and avenue of the city." The camera went to a recording of the caped boy running. Of course, the camera couldn't get a clear visual of the runner. "Our helicopter got these shots in. As you can see, the blur was a mixture of black, gray, and blue. We have a scientist, whose name isn't all that important, to tell us his theory." The camera switched to an old man wearing a white lab coat. Otto, intrigued by the development, sat down and watched.
"Ahem. Thank you. As you just saw, the 'blur' covered every section of Ocean Shores from the pier all the way to the residential areas. Nothing can possibly move that fast to create this distortion of light." The TV then displayed the recording again. "The blur started to disappear slightly, so I believe that the cause of this is the northern lights!"
"What a quack." Otto said to himself. "Something had to have been moving that fast 'cause the blur went to The Point." He noticed that at the last second of the recording, whatever caused the blur did indeed leave town along the beach.
The anchorman raised an eyebrow at the professor. "Northern lights, huh?"
The scientist gave a grin. "Yep!"
"Get out of here!" The anchorman yelled as he kicked the old guy off camera. "Senile old coot." He muttered before remembering that he was still on the air.
"Err… Anyway! In baseball, the Angels…" Otto could care less about sports at the moment. He finished off the sandwich he made and started going upstairs to sleep.
"Hey Raymundo, you going to your room or what?" In response to that question, Ray just muttered something Otto wasn't sure he wanted to understand. Shrugging, he continued climbing the stairs.
'Man. Working truly sucks sometimes.'
Otto works at the Shack as their only delivery boy. Today was his first day doing the summer job. Using his boarding skills, he can get to any house in Ocean Shores within a half hour. He hoped to earn enough money to buy a used car. He already got his license. Anyway, only one order came in today and because he was so excited, he almost crashed into the shoobie in the cape and didn't even stop to apologize. Of course, his best bro, Twister, crashed into the new guy a little bit after that.
'Twister…' Otto stopped just as he reached the door to his bedroom. 'For some reason, I've been thinking about him a lot lately. What's the deal?' He entered the room. He had outgrown the car bed he had and got a traditional twin-sized bed. He went to sleep.
The next day…
Izzy groggily crawled out of his tent.
"Ugh. I've been having that tent for too long!" He grumbled as he did some stretching exercises. After stretching his legs, he walked to the fountain, scooped up some water, and wet his sweating face.
'It's only morning and already it's sweltering! I gotta get some new clothes or I'll sweat like a dog.' He thought as he sighed. 'But I have to conserve my cash.' He went into the tent and grabbed his cape, hat, and sunglasses.
"Hey! Wouldn't the cape make me even worse off than I already am!?" He asked as he put said items on.
(Me: Technically, yeah, but it makes you look cool.)
"I'm aware of that, but I'm burning!"
(Me: Ugh. Look, I'll give you some surfer clothes later. Ok?)
"o.O;;;; Do I even want to wear surfer clothes?"
(Me: - - First off, no sweatdropping! We're not doing an animé or game fic. This is a fic for an American cartoon. If we were doing a Teen Titans fic, and God help me if we were, it would be different.)
"I'm sweating right now anyway. I can't exactly help it." Izzy paused. "And I thought you liked Teen Titans."
(Me: Of course I do. It's just that I can never see myself writing a fic for it.)
"If I remember correctly, you never pictured yourself writing a slash fic either and look at where we are."
(Me: - - Shut up. And about your earlier question, you can wear either surfer clothes or skater clothes. You pick.)
"Eh. How would I look in either?"
(Me: Would you still have the cape?)
"I guess so, yeah."
(Me: Then you'd look good!)
"Ok." Izzy got in a thinking pose. "...So what do ya wanna talk about?"
(Me: Ehh... I don't know. What do you—O O GET BACK TO THE FIC!!!)
"Sheesh! Alright! No need to yell like that!" Izzy got back into character. "I guess I better get some breakfast. I wonder if this town has good croissants." He then left the park.
Elsewhere…
Otto was leaving his house to go to the Shack and help out a little bit before deliveries had to be made (Deliveries start at eleven). He seemed to be deeply disturbed about something.
'That dream was sooo weird!' He thought. 'It was just me and Twister in my room. Then he just walked up to me and…' He shook his head. 'I just don't want to think about it.'
"Hey Ottoman!" He heard Twister shout. Otto turned and saw his best bro leave his house and walk up to him.
"Hey Twist. What's up?" Otto asked, feeling somewhat odd around his best friend.
"You wanna hang out later?" Twister asked, not knowing of his friend's predicament.
"Uhhh…sure. I should have plenty of time to surf or something after work." Otto replied sheepishly.
"Cool. See ya later." Twister went back into his house. Otto let out a sigh of relief and got on his board. He was going to leave, but Sam called for him. The portly teenager walked to him.
"Hey Squid."
"Hey Otto. Is Reggie up yet?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. She's having breakfast. I'm about to leave." Otto replied.
"I believe I already know the answer to this, but did you see the news last night?" Otto gave Sam an exasperated look.
"I caught a little bit of the story about us and the story about that weird blur." Sam got a shocked expression, but then regained a normal face.
"What do you think caused that blur?"
"I don't know, but it definitely wasn't the northern lights. That scientist was a real crackpot. Anyway, I'm gonna be late, so see ya." Otto made his way to the pier, hardly listening to Sammy's good bye.
'It's odd, but I liked that dream.' Otto thought as he rolled down the hill. 'I must be losing it or something.' Pushing the thought to the back of his head, he continued on.
Back with Izzy...
"Ya know, this fic revolves around more than just Otto & I." Izzy said as he walked along the boardwalk.
(Me: Stop complaining and get back to the fic. I don't pay ya to whine.)
"I hate to be using a clichéd line, but you don't pay me to do anything!"
(Me: This is true, so deal with it!)
"::Sighs:: Fine." As I was saying, Izzy was walking along the boardwalk with his arms crossed. He was in deep thought.
'I don't get it. What's with this feeling I've been getting since last night?' He stopped on the right side of the pier's entrance sign and looked at the ocean. 'Something big is going to happen and it's going to affect everybody in this city. I just know it. The question is WHAT is going to happen and when?' With a sigh, he walked under the sign, making sure to watch for any skaters. Seeing that it was safe, he continued moving.
'Whatever happens though, I'll stand my ground if I need to.' He walked past the Shack and walked to the bottom of the nearby ramp. He continued to look at the waves, feeling the cool ocean breeze.
'I realize that this is a tad early, but I should be planning on how I'm supposed to get out of here.' Izzy took in a sharp breath. 'With my speed, I can cross the ocean on foot to Hawaii, but it could take a long time, plus if I tire out, I'll sink.' He wiped some sweat from his brow as some random skater wiped out in front of him. He paid no notice.
'I can always take a cruise or a flight, but that costs way too much money. I can also run to Canada or Mexico.' A close distance away, Otto left the shack to make a delivery. 'Nah. Canada is way too cold and Mexico is probably blazing compared to here. Besides, Mexican food gives me gas.'
(A/N: No offense meant to anybody in that last line.)
'Heh. Guess I better think of something to do. There's no way I'm gonna spend this whole day cooking.' Izzy started to pace around in thought.
(Me: Well, that's a boring way to end a thought pattern. How about we go back to Otto?)
Back with the other guy…
'Ok. Let me get this straight. I felt that the dream was incredibly weird and yet I LIKED it?!' Otto thought as he skated through town with a bag full of burgers. 'That ain't right. You don't just dream about your best friend, especially if he's a GUY!' He turned left and went up a hill.
'Still, it was kinda cool. Ugh! If only there was somebody to talk to about this!' He turned left and stopped at the first house on his right. He walked up to the house and rang the bell. A few moments later, a burly guy in a red jacket, black pants, and black boots opened the door. Otto noticed that this guy had no hair and the biggest mustache he ever seen! He handed the guy the food and he was given the money with a $2 tip. Otto then started walking with a somewhat stunned expression.
'Was that… Egg—'
(Me: Don't even think about finishing that thought.)
"Ok... But why him?"
(Me: Heh. I wanted him to do a cameo. Now continue.)
"Whatever." Otto sighed as he got on his board and went back to the Shack.
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Izzy yawned. He was now leaning against a wall.
'I'm bored! There's nothing to do here and I'm losing my mind!' He thought.
(Me: So find something to do.)
'What do ya suggest? And don't say surfing or skating!'
(Me: Like you know how to do either. Anyway, aren't ya supposed to be looking for a job?)
'Yeah…but I would like to have some fun before I deal with that. By the way, since when was I psychic?'
(Me: You're not, but I am.)
'Fine. Let me get back to the fic.' Izzy took out his picture and just felt content with looking at it for a few seconds.
'Mom, Dad. I miss you both so much. Don't worry, I'll avenge you soon.' He put the picture away and he walked a short distance towards the skate park, Mad Town. He stood outside the fence and just watched the boarders and bladers do their stuff.
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"What was up with Otto this morning?" Twister asked. He was skating on roller blades with Sam & Reggie.
"Beats me. He's been real thoughtful lately." Reggie replied.
"Yeah. And when I talked to him this morning, he said he watched the news!" Sam yelled. That caused everyone to stop.
"Yeah right!" Twister laughed.
"Get real, Squid!" Reggie laughed as well.
"Like I said, his word, not mine." Sam said. "He said he saw that story about us and that report on the blur from yesterday."
"Story about us? You mean what happened with that shoobie?" Twister asked. Sam nodded.
"They sure are getting desperate for a story." Reggie commented.
"Yeah. I think that whole deal with the blur was the most exciting thing to happen to Ocean Shores since the Beach Break." Sam said.
"Ugh. Don't remind me." Reggie & Twister said at the same time. They said nothing after that and continued skating towards the pier.
'Otto, what's wrong with you?' Twister thought with concern.
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'I never thought this whole skating thing can get old after such a short time.' Izzy thought dully. His arms were drooped over the fence and his expression was that of sheer boredom. 'I mean, you see one 360 ollie with a twist, you've seen them all!' With that, he stood up and walked up the ramp. He was about to leave the pier when he noticed a poster on the wall by the entrance to the Shack. He looked at it and read.
"'Assistant delivery boy wanted. Please inquire within.'" He got a grin on his face when he read that. "I think I've found a job." Izzy walked inside the Shack. Strangely, it was pretty busy compared to yesterday. He walked up to the register and waited for someone to talk to.
"What can I do for you?" He looked at the man who addressed him. It was the big guy wearing the Hawaiian shirt from yesterday.
"Hi. I would like to apply for the delivery boy position." Izzy replied.
"Aren't you the kid from yesterday?"
"Yeah." Izzy nodded. "Your name is Tito, I believe."
"Right. Anyway, I gotta get Raymundo. Be right back." With that, Tito went into the back room. "Hey Ray, someone's here to apply for the job."
"Oh? Who is it?" Ray asked.
"It's that kid from yesterday." Tito replied. Ray shot him a confused look, but glanced into the main room. He saw the caped kid waiting at the counter.
"Man. I was hoping somebody like Twister would take the position." Ray started sadly. "Otto's been weirding out on everybody lately. He could use somebody to talk to." He sighed.
"This might work out." Tito reassured. "The kid may be a shoobie, but maybe he can get to the root of Otto's problem." Ray sighed again.
"I hope you're right." Ray walked out of the back room. He walked up to Izzy. "Hi. I've been told you want the assistant delivery boy job."
"Yeah. What do I have to do to apply?" Izzy asked.
"Just answer a few questions."
"Ok. Shoot. I got nothing to hide." Izzy waved a dismissive hand. Ray thought for a moment.
"Full name?"
"Izzy Lopez."
"Lopez? Are you by any chance related to—"
"No." Izzy interrupted. "If I was, would I even be here?"
"Good point." Ray said before continuing. "Age?"
"Seventeen."
'Same as Otto. Perfect.' Ray thought. "Uhh... Mode of transport?"
"Come again?" Izzy asked.
"You know. How you plan to get from here to customers." Ray replied.
"Oh. Ummm…" Izzy started.
'Think Izzy! How can you do this without saying that you can run at the speed of sound!?' He thought.
"I can run pretty fast. I do track & field, so I guess that's what I'll do." He gave a sheepish grin.
"How much can you hold while running?" Ray asked.
'Damn. Good question. I've never run while holding something before.' Izzy thought.
"I think I can hold about ten—maybe fifteen—pounds while maintaining a steady speed." He put a thumb to his chin to think if that's at least partially true. "Uhhh...what are the hours like?" He asked before Ray can ask another question.
"You come here at eleven and work until closing time, which is at seven." Ray replied.
(A/N: I have no idea what time the Shack closes or opens. Just go with it.)
"Ok. And the pay?"
"You get $5 per hour, plus tips."
"Ok. That sounds good."
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Otto was on his way back to the Shack. It was now sunset.
'Finally! All I gotta do is give Raymundo today's earnings and I can chill out!' He thought with excitement as he crossed the pier. 'Best of all, I haven't even been thinking about Twister in the last few hours.' He kept silent for a moment.
'Well, so much for that.' He gave a light chuckle. He got to the Shack in time to see Raymundo & Izzy shaking hands. Otto walked up to them.
"Hey Otto, Izzy here is going to be our new assistant delivery boy." Ray said. Izzy waved hello at Otto, who was suddenly seeing red. He was supposed to be the only delivery boy! He would've been able, barely, to get enough money for a car at the end of the summer, but now that dream was ruined. Shattered by a…by a...SHOOBIE!
"Dad! When did you open the position?!" Otto yelled. Everybody in the restaurant got quiet and watched the scene.
"O-Otto..." Ray started, his face showing full on shock, as was Izzy's. "I only wanted—"
"Wanted what?! I don't know or care what you wanted! Now answer the question! When did you offer the position?!" Otto was seething now. His blood boiled.
"About an hour ago." Ray replied. Izzy, suddenly nervous, decided to take his leave.
"I should go. I guess I'll come around here tomorrow." He then walked carefully past Otto.
"Oh sure, shoobie. Go ahead and leave." Otto said icily. Izzy was about to walk out when he heard the insult. Chills went up his spine. He turned around.
"That word..." He said as he walked back to Otto. He took off his sunglasses and glared at the boarder.
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"Otto should be done working for today." Twister said with excitement. He didn't have much time to hang out with his best bro in a long while.
"Yeah. Maybe he'll lighten up." Reggie agreed.
"I wonder what's going on." Sam said as he looked ahead. The group saw a huge amount of people standing outside the Shack. They were looking inside.
"Let's check it out." Reggie said. The three skated up to the Shack and squeezed past the mob. They saw Otto and Izzy glaring at each other. They were in fighting poses and looked ready to attack.
"I don't know what that word means, but I'm sick of being called that." Izzy said, trying to remain calm. "Besides, what's your deal, anyway?"
"My deal?" Otto asked. "My deal is that my job is going to be taken by some shoobie!"
"Otto." Ray said. "He's going to be an ASSISTANT delivery boy. You would still make more money than he will." Otto wouldn't hear of it though.
"So tell me, how do ya plan on getting to each order? Have your dad drive you?" He teased. Izzy felt tears coming to his eyes, but suppressed them. He only glared harder.
"I'll run to each destination. It's better than using some toy." He got a smirk on his face when he saw Otto's expression.
"Toy? Listen here, I'm the fastest boarder in Ocean Shores." Otto came back with bravado. Izzy stood straight up and crossed his arms.
"Heh. That proves nothing. Running is where real physical strength is. If you depend on a lousy skateboard for speed, it only shows your laziness."
"I bet you'd like to prove that." Otto said with a sneer.
"What are you proposing?" Izzy asked, though a thought came to mind.
"We'll race and see which way is faster." Otto replied. Izzy suppressed the urge to smirk. "If you win, you can be the assistant delivery boy."
"And if you win?" Izzy asked. Otto put on a smirk of his own.
"You mean WHEN I win, you don't become the assistant delivery boy and you can't get a job here."
"Otto!" Ray tried to intervene, but Izzy interrupted.
"I accept the terms. Where and when will we race?"
"Come here at Noon tomorrow. The course will be figured out then." Otto held out a hand. Izzy took out one of his own and the two tried to out squeeze the other. They let go and Izzy walked out. The people cleared a path and he walked alone into the night. Reggie, Sam, and Twister ran up to Otto as the mob disappeared.
"What was that all about?" Reggie asked.
"Your brother just challenged our new employee to a race." Ray replied.
"He's not an employee. I'll make sure of that." Otto said with spite as he got up.
"Otto…" Twister muttered worriedly.
"I'm going home!" Otto said and he skated out of the Shack.
With Izzy…
After a light run, Izzy was standing on top of a wall with his arms by his side. He was looking up at the full moon.
'I can't believe he said that about Dad.' He thought, thinking back to the confrontation. 'That kid… He seemed to be thinking about something. Even in the heat of the argument, there was something important on his mind.' He shook his head.
'No matter. Tomorrow, I'll put him in his place and show him not to call me a shoo—whatever he said!' He jumped off the wall & ran off.
Throughout the course of the night, Otto trained on his personal half pipe. He didn't want to listen to anybody that tried to get close to him; not even Twister.
'He called all skaters lazy. That includes Twister! I'll show him. I'll show him that skateboarding is much faster than running!' He roared in his mind as he did a few tricks.
(Twister: Hey, if Otto's gonna be in a race, shouldn't he be skating in the streets?
Me: Where'd you come from!? Anyway, you expect him to skate through town at night?)
Elsewhere, Izzy was just sleeping. Trying to get comfortable in his small tent. Yep. Not much going on there.
As for all other parties involved, they were just worried. Worried about what would happen to the innocent kid who just wanted a job & got dragged into this and worried about their good friend/brother/son who was already going berserk about something. He'd probably be even worse if he were to lose this race.
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A/N:
Izzy: ::Rocking back and forth:: The boss is in control. He'd never do something like this.
Me: o O Get over it, will ya!?
Izzy: ::Stops rocking:: Another thing, what's Ivo doing in this dimension?
Me: In order for you to keep your super speed, I have to take elements from the Sonic dimension. I told you that a while ago.
Izzy: But Robotnik?!
Me: o.O I thought you liked him.
Izzy: I do, but what about Shadow?
Me: God, you're picky! Anyway, will Otto beat Izzy or will Izzy prove to the world that skaters are lazy? Find out in the next chapter!