The Perils of Online Dating

Chapter 3

Dr. Robotnik chuckled to himself as he beat Aneela in their game. "Would you prefer a different game next?" He asked as he saw the moon coming up. It had been an hour since they sat down.

"We can. There's a board-style game called SimuReal. It looks like you go around the board buying lots and improving them and collecting rent from the other players." She typed back.

He was about to click yes to the invite that popped up to let him view the game details when a knock came at the door. "Sire! We caught one of the hedgehogs!"

The despot grinned wickedly and he called back. "Terrific! Take her to the roboticizer room and wait for me. Do nothing until I get there." He heard the bell ring to indicate Aneela was waiting for him and he froze. He typed out. "I need to get off. There's an emergency with one of my projects." He lied.

"Oh no!" Her reply came. "Well, should I stay on? I have nothing else to do. I can wait."

Robotnik was surprised. She would wait for him? He typed slowly. "Yes... I won't be long..." he went to the roboticizer room where Sonia was struggling against Dingo's iron grip.

"Let go of me you blockhead!" She fought as hard as she could but could not get free. "My brothers will be here soon. You know they won't let you roboticize me."

Sleet stepped forward and offered Robotnik a crumpled letter. "We found this in her hands. It's a letter from Queen Aleena."

Robotnik looked at Sonia. "Then you must know where she is..." He unfolded the letter carefully so as not to tear it.

"Well I don't, Buttnik! Hey! Don't read that! It's private!" She cried out in vain. "It's between me and my mother and has nothing to do with you."

He read the letter. "I assume she's referring to Bartleby?" When she refused to answer him, he took her silence as a yes. "Drop her, Dingo." He knew he didn't need to order him to be gentle. The jackal had a crush on the girl. "Come with me." He ordered. "Sleet, fetch us some tea please. We will be in my sitting room."

Sleet bowed, knowing better than to question the man. Dingo looked at her. "Sorry if I hurt ya, Sonia."

She rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't hurt me, but sheesh!" She followed Robotnik out of curiosity more than anything. What was the bastard up to?

The sitting room was mainly a deep red, lined with walls of bookshelves. She looked at one of the titles. "War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I've never heard of them."

"That's because your father banned all works by humans. The first tome is a book written in The novel chronicles the French invasion of Russia and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society through the stories of five Russian aristocratic families. Portions of an earlier version, titled The Year 1805, were serialized from 1865 to 1867, then published in its entirety in 1869. And Lord of the Rings was a very popular fantasy series about a young hobbit and his quest to destroy an evil ring." He chuckled at her expression at the volunteered information. "Acorn City, the capital of Grevillea, has a wealth of knowledge preserved from those days because they are not a city of bigots."

Sonia rolled her eyes. "We are not a city of bigots. You haven't been a very good example of a human, so don't even act like a victim. Don't even try it!"

He directed her to a chair while Sleet wheeled in a tray with the fixings for a proper tea service. "Ooo, you made your victoria sandwich cake with the nice, big strawberries." He cut himself a large piece and ate greedily, chewing with his mouth wide open and drinking his tea with disgustingly loud slurps. "Sleet is talented in the kitchen which makes up for his incompetence at his job." He said snidely, earning a growl of indignation.