Sonic and Tails both caravanned through the scorching Sunbeat Badlands area of Desert Ruins. They had barely salvaged the name from ancient text on half-destroyed structures with the Tails Electric's UT (Universal Translator) function. Due to the intense heat, Sonic discreetly opted to fall behind Tails at points so that his best friend would fan him with his spinning tails. It was just practical. Tails noticed this, but didn't mind or tell Sonic. The hedgehog had been kicking sand in his face while running in the lead anyways.
Since Sonic had slowed down, he couldn't help but take notice of giant bones of strange ogre-like beasts dotting the sand. They didn't look like they could belong to any creature Sonic knew of. Most animals on the Lost Hex looked different from those found on Erius, but not THAT different. The only thing that could be traced back to animals on Erius were the horns.
Sonic looked ahead, and saw a deep canyon. Going too fast to stop, he instead began to rail grind around the giant ribcage of one of these monstrous skeletons. Tails flew overhead, as Sonic hopped from bone to bone at high speeds to avoid falling. Giant sandworms jumped up from the valley below to try and eat Sonic and Tails whole. Sonic jumped over and crouched under them with his heart pounding fearfully. Eventually, the two reached the end of the canyon. The Sandworms gave up their chase, and retreated back into their nest. Sonic and Tails just kept running.
Not too long after this, the two screeched to a halt in front of an oasis. There were many beehives hanging from the palmtrees, and a clear river flowing under a long, twisting wooden road. There was a street sign with foliage growing on it saying "Honeycomb Highway". The ruins were still present, but they resembled a town rather than palaces and temples like before. There was a great view of an upside-down Erian jungle in the sky.
"Looks like Robotnik didn't get here yet," Tails stated. "Not a machine in sight."
"Yeah, but if he didn't destroy these buildings… then who did?" Sonic asked. Sonic heard the precious sound of children's evil laughter from behind him. He turned around, caught off-guard. Standing there atop a pink-green mech that looked like a piece of totem pole, were two children. A frog girl, and a woolly mammoth boy. "Huh? Who the Hell are you?"
"'HECK', Sonic. They're kids," Tails corrected him.
"I said heck," Sonic argued in passing, taking notice of the Robotnik Empire symbol in the form of metal badges on the children's clothes.
"You better learn our names!" The frog shouted. She pointed the mammoth's arm towards Sonic, while she pointed at Tails. "We're your new greatest foes! Susie and Pico!" They posed energetically. "As the highest ranking special forces for the Robotnik Empire, it is our job to rid the world of all the pests that dare go against the rule of Lord Robotnik. Starting with you." Sonic looked at them confusedly. He knew they were different people, but he only saw child versions of himself and Tails staring back at him. Tails seemed to share this perspective.
"Hey, we don't have to fight," Tails stated. "We were just like you when we were younger. Robotnik's manipulating you two!"
"We will fight. YOU will fight," Susie muttered, glaring at them. Sonic and Tails suddenly felt a force overtake their minds. They could only watch as they jumped towards Susie and Pico, unable to control their thoughts or actions as if there was some kind of external force controlling them like puppets. Pico then let out a trumpet sound from his trunk. It was so loud that the heavy soundwaves blew Sonic and Tails back.
"What just happened?" Sonic asked, panicked as he snapped out of it. He would never try to attack a kid, but… an overbearing force had simply compelled him to. Sonic and Tails rolled out of the way as the Totem Mech stomped onto the road and nearly flattened them.
"I don't know!" Tails exclaimed. "I couldn't control myself." Susie and Pico just laughed at them.
"We should get out of here before it happens again," Sonic whispered. He didn't know what happened, but he needed to get a safe distance from these children for their own sake. So, he got up and ran off into Honeycomb Highway.
"Heh! You're not that fast," Susie taunted. Sonic suddenly stumbled, slowing down to a snail's pace. He turned around sluggishly, just in time to see the Totem Mech slam into him. He was sent flying forward. Tails flew over and helped Sonic up.
"Are you okay? As soon as she said that, you…" Tails asked as Sonic got to his feet.
"Slowed down? Yeah. Felt awful. I won't let it happen again!" Sonic growled, holding his head. He blasted off again, carrying Tails with him.
"Stay on your toes, Sonic!" Tails shouted, watching as the Totem Mech fell behind. "That Susie kid must have some kind of control over our thoughts and actions, and can make us do anything she says. My guess is that the effect wears off when we get hurt. Better get out of earshot!" Sonic switched lanes, as a swarm of large bees went flying by the lane he was on.
"Fall! Trip!" Susie commanded. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be heard from such a distance. But Pico was using his trunk to blast the sounds coming from her mouth forward with mechanical waves. "Jump off the ledge! Stop running so fast!" Sonic hopped between two of these soundwaves shown by ripples in the air as they passed him, Drop Dashed under another, and, with a sonic boom, completely outran a wall comprised of the soundwave itself. All while switching lanes with super-fast reflexes to avoid bashing into the traffic jam of large bees.
"This isn't working… they may as well be going our speed times… infinity?!" Susie exclaimed. Sonic fell below the speed of sound, just in time to hear this. When he did, something flashed in his eye, as he burst forward at a speed beyond what can be recorded with numbers. "Oh, NOW he hears?!" Susie screamed, frustrated. Pico tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around. "What is it, Pico?"
Susie watched as Sonic appeared from a tear in reality and ran alongside them. Before Susie could open her mouth to utter another command, Sonic threw a non-painful energy beam forward and wrapped up the two kids like he was using a lasso. He pulled them off of the Totem Mech, making the mech crash into the ground and skid to a stop.
"Talk about a demanding little brat," Sonic taunted Susie as Tails swept by and caught the kids.
"Grah! Put me down!" Susie shouted. Tails couldn't do anything but let go. The two tots faceplanted onto the ground. They backed away from Sonic and Tails. "You may have defeated us this time, but we'll be back!" Susie and Pico both bumped into somebody. Turning around and looking up… they saw Zomom the Hexi.
"Hey. You can't go around stealing my mech!" Zomom scolded them. "Lord Robotnik called me, and this little joyride of yours made him very angry." She stood with her fists on her hips.
"You're lying. He would never be angry at us," Susie replied, crossing her arms in denial. Pico looked to the ground, guilty and miserable. He believed Zomom, because she had never told a lie to him. "Tell the truth."
"I am telling the truth. He told me that I had to find you and bring you back," Zomom stated, her voice monotone and robotic. She looked away. "He ordered me to come here against my will, and…" Susie sighed, jumped up, and slapped Zomom in the face.
"Don't tell the WHOLE truth. Not in front of them…" Susie growled. Sonic and Tails exchanged glances, then went back to watching the situation unfold. "C'mon. We already wrecked your mech, so there's not much left to do here."
"Zav wasn't lying. You two are quite the handful…" Zomom sighed, flying off. She used what appeared to be the same magnetic force that Zazz used before, this time to carry the children into the air by their metallic Robotnik Empire pins. Much to Susie and Pico's dismay. Pico sadly waved goodbye to Sonic and Tails, while Susie thrashed about.
"See ya later! Stay safe!" Tails called, not having a semblance of ill will towards the two even after what had just transpired. They were only kids, after all. Being manipulated by the empire just as Sonic and Tails had.
"Go to Hell!" Susie cried back.