Hey everybody! So some of you might be seeing this and thinking, "Leo, you already have two stories going what is this?" Well the short answer is this is a one shot based on the Sonic movie which I saw the other day. It's much better then I ever would have thought it to be and I wanted to write something within it's universe. As I said, this is going to be short and I don't really have any intentions of extending this any further then I need to. On that note, let's get going!

WARNING, MOVIE SPOILERS AHEAD, DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, AS THIS WILL RUIN A MAJOR SURPRISE THAT HAPPENS, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Relentless Pursuit

Chaos Energy is volatile, you keep enough of it bottled up for long enough and eventually it'll start to release into the nearby environment, sometimes in very dangerous ways. It manifests differently in all of us, some experience it very little, others are attuned to it in special ways, gaining some unique ability or trait.

Who ever did this was firmly in that second category…

Longclaw could only hide it for so long before somebody eventually noticed… The echidna, guardians of the Chaos Emeralds seemed very intrigued in this thing… Super speed? That was something that could be harnessed, maybe even investigated further. Of course, there was always the chance that the hedgehog could die from it but what was one life in exchange for an even greater understanding of the power that controlled this universe that could last millennia?

At least, that how they justified it to themselves…

I know what it was like, to have everyone you've loved taken from you… But now, with the opening of a ring gate, he could be on any world anywhere. With all that Chaos Energy present, it's only a matter of time until it all boils over… Ending with potentially disastrous consequences for anybody involved… I've got one goal, and that's to stop that from happening…

With the echidnas taking Longclaw off to who knows where, and that hedgehog gone… That leaves the area where the portal opened completely unguarded…

Perfect…

Peeking out from the bushes, I produced the small scanner that I had brought with me, the vortex had opened here… But now there was no evidence that it had even existed…

Unless of course, you know where to look and happened to have an IQ of over three hundred…

While living things and Mobians might be… Unreliable… Machines aren't, machines are dependable, consistent… Dare I say that machines follow orders…

"Whatever, just stay focused…" I tell myself. "Just focus on what you're doing…"

The small palm sized scanned started to act up… Detecting a spike of residual Chaos Energy in the area, there was definitely a portal here at some point. The problem is that, the energy was old enough at this point that it was going to be difficult to figure out it's exact exit location…

It's funny, how something that's normally so volatile being used as the only stable method of traveling the multiverse… Kind of ironic if you think about it…

"You're not here to discuss the irony of Chaos Energy Miles! You're here to save the life of whoever went through that portal!"

"I know I know…" I mumbled to myself, a habit I was quite prone to doing while focused. "Just thinking…"

The scanner returned its data and as suspected, there was no trace of a potential exit location, not even an estimate. That significantly complicated things…

He rubbed his temples in exhaustion, "Why does everything involving Chaos Energy have to be so difficult!?"

"Maybe because it's the stuff that runs the universe genius! If it was easy then nothing would work!"

He had to agree with his mental self on that one, it certainly made a good-

The fox's ears perked up, he thought he heard something. He quickly scanned his surroundings. After a brief moment, he heard it again. A faint rustling as something walked through the underbrush to where he was currently at. Concealing himself in some nearby bushes and hoping that the orange of his fur wouldn't stand out too much. He eagerly awaited the arrival of whatever was coming. As he watched on, two echidnas made their way out of the foliage and into the small area. Miles' eyes tried their best to make out any essential features in the dark of night, but he wasn't able to make out much. With his sensitive hearing however, he was able to make out their conversation.

"So, this is where he was at?" The first spoke, "I mean, I know we suspected Longclaw for a while on this but I never suspected it would be this extreme. I mean a full-on Chaos Adept right here under our noses the whole time!?"

"He was a child Knuckles, I'm sure you're aware of that…"

"Knuckles?" The fox thought to himself, it was something to go off of, a name.

"I know it's just; we should have found this sooner! I'm going to be a Master Emerald guardian one of these days! I should have been able to sense him!"

"Easy, do you think any of us figured out how to do it that easily? It takes practice, you'll get it one day."

"Alright Finitevus if you say so…"

"Finitevus!?" The fox thought to himself, "I wonder if he-"

"Though, while we're on the topic... Do you sense that?"

"What?"

"Someone's here, it's almost familiar…"

Tails instinctively shrunk down at the statement as Finitevus continued, "I know you're there Miles, you should know better then to try and hide…"

The fox sheepishly stepped out from his hiding place in the underbrush, "S- Sorry Finitevus, I d- didn't know it was you and-"

"It's quite alright, I assume you're curious about what's been going on here?"

"Y- Yeah… If that's alright I mean…"

"You're alright what do you have so far?"

"Finitevus?" Knuckles interjected, ushering the other over to him. "What's with him? What's he doing here?"

"I should probably explain shouldn't I? I took care of Miles when he was a bit younger after his parents left him. He's a nice kid, but sometimes a bit too curious for his own good."

"I can see that, does he have any connection to-"

"Not at all, he's not attuned to Chaos Energy."

"So, why'd you take him? I thought our goal was to study this stuff!?"

"One of these days you'll understand, maybe when you're older… Miles was like a son to me, and the only reason he's not still with us is because of his lack of connection to Chaos."

"I still don't like it…" Knuckles grumbled.

Finitevus just sighed, Knuckles reminded him of himself as a kid. Thinking of the echidna as a better race than any other. He'd most likely grow out of it eventually.

"Well…" The kit's voice added, referencing the small device in his palm. "I can't figure out where this went… It's just too old…"

"Ah, the joys of a good puzzle… I know you used to love those." Finitevus added, "So what are you going to do to solve it Miles?"

"Well, I guess I could try and isolate the Energy itself sometimes that helps…"

"Good eye, in fact, I suppose you could go even further if you wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're smart, I'm certain you could figure it out. I'm available if you need my help."

The kit seemed deep in thought for a moment. Knuckles was somewhat fascinated by the personal connection between the kit and his mentor. Eventually, a moment of realization flashed over the kit's face as he dug through his stuff, quickly producing a warp ring. "If it's not too much to do… Could you maybe use the energy left over from the ring to activate this?"

"An interesting theory," Finitevus responded, taking the small metallic object. He focused the energy left over from the ring's opening, something that proved difficult but not unmanageable. Eventually completing the connection, the kit took back the ring and threw it through the air, as it opened a landscape of trees was visible.

"It worked!"

"I knew you could figure it out," Finitevus responded. "Remember, Chaos Energy guides us all to our destiny."

The kit nodded and jumped through the portal as it closed behind him. He instantly produced the small scanner present and held it to the air. The familiar Energy charged its sensors and it instantly activated.

"He's here! I found him!" The kit thought aloud. "I just hope I'm not too late…"

He unfurled his twin appendages behind him and leapt off the cliff face. Rapidly rotating his additional limbs as he bolted off into the distance…

Alright everybody, that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed this quick story and I look forward to seeing your thoughts! Until next time!