Return to Robotropolis

Rescuing Sonia and Manic

A certain hedgehog was racing towards Eggman's base in the Northern Plains. Despite the fact that it was morning, it was dark. The hedgehog paused to catch his breath. He shivered as his dark fur was ice-blasted by the blizzard.
"Why on Mobius would the Doctor build a base here? It's way too cold," he growled under his breath. He wrapped his arms around himself and brought his knee to his stomach, trying to conserve body heat. After pulling himself together, he continued on his way.
"You there, buddy?" Sonic asked from a communicator on the hedgehog's wrist as he continued to speed towards Eggman's base.
"Yes. What is it?"
"I just wanted to give you a heads up," Sonic said. "Manic is kinda sensitive, so try not to scare or intimidate him too much."
"I'll try."
"I trust that the rescue will be successful. Be careful."
"I will. Initiating the mission now."

Manic shivered as he sat in his cold, dark cell. He recalled the last time he saw Sonic.
"You're a good boy, Manic. Remember, be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens," Sonic cooed as he stroked Manic's quills as he started to lose consciousness again.
As Manic came back to reality, he found himself face to face with ruby eyes. He gasped in shock and alarm, his cobalt eyes wide with fear. Due to the poor lighting, he couldn't make out any distinguishing features of the dark-furred hedgehog, minus his intimidating, blood red eyes and the patch of stark-white fur on his chest. The dark hedgehog gave the emerald hedgehog a once over.
"I certainly see the family resemblance. You don't look like a prince," he said in a soft but deep voice. "Come. We need to leave before the Doctor's defenses get here."
"W-Who are you?" Manic stuttered.
The ebony hedgehog didn't say anything. He simply motioned for him to follow. Manic hesitantly and nervously followed the mysterious hedgehog. As they swiftly walked through the corridor, Manic started to ease up a little.
Suddenly, the alarm went off. The black hedgehog cursed under his breath, angry that they'd been caught. He grabbed Manic's wrist and pulled him along, breaking into a run (technically a skate.) "Come on."
"Wait! I can't run that fast!" Manic protested.
"Shut up and keep running," the dark hedgehog growled.
They stopped as three Egg Gunners blocked the hall. The dark hedgehog pulled out an MP5-K submachine gun from his quills and quickly shot all of them down. Keeping the gun in his right hand, he grabbed Manic's wrist again. They continued to run towards the exit, shooting any robots that dared get in the way.
Manic gasped for air as they came to a stop a few miles away from the base.
"Catch your breath," the black hedgehog growled, putting his gun back in his quills. Manic caught his breath quickly; quick recovery seemed to run in the family.
Now that the lighting was better, Manic was able to get a good look at his rescuer. He had black fur, ruby red eyes, and tan skin on his muzzle and the insides of his ears. He also had red stripes on his head quills, arms, legs, and along the outer edges of his eyes and a patch of long, fluffy, white fur covering his chest. He wore white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, hover shoes with similar cuffs, and a gold ring around each of his wrists and ankles. He had six quills on his head, four of which turned upwards, and two on his back behind his shoulders.
The dark hedgehog noticed more Egg Gunners flying towards them. He scoffed. "Those pieces of junk don't learn their lesson."
Manic yelped as the ebony hedgehog roughly grabbed him and picked him up. He couldn't keep dragging him along; Manic couldn't run fast enough and that might cause them to get caught or hurt.
As Eggman's base and the Egg Gunners got further out of sight, Manic started shivering heavily. He wasn't used to the extreme cold. He tugged his vest tighter around himself, hoping that it would keep him a little warmer.

Sonia sat in her uncomfortably warm cell, lost in her thoughts. She recalled the last time she saw Sonic.
"You're a good girl, Sonia. Remember, be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens," Sonic cooed as he stroked Sonia's hair as she started to lose consciousness again.
Sonia snapped back to reality. Suddenly, part of the wall collapsed as Sonic and a young, orangish-yellow fox with two tails broke in. Sonic just smiled while Tails waved in greeting to her.
"Sonic!" Sonia exclaimed, getting up.
"Hi, Sonia," Sonic replied. He flinched as Sonia suddenly hugged him, as he hadn't expected it. Quickly recovering from the shock, he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away so he could look her in the eye. "Now then, are you okay?"
Sonia kept her hands on his collarbone and felt that he wasn't wearing his medallion, which she failed to notice before. She decided not to say anything about it though. "I'm so glad that you came."
Sonic nodded reassuringly. "I always keep my word." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "By the way, please don't say anything to my friends about me being your brother. They don't know about the whole prince thing. And don't mention my medallion either." Sonia nodded in understanding.
"Sonic!" Tails suddenly yelled. Sonic and Sonia looked to see what Tails was yelling about. Sonic quickly moved into a protective stance.
Eggman had arrived in the cell, with the Egg-Cerberus behind him. "It looks like a pesky rat has stuck its nose where it doesn't belong. Well, a hedgehog to be more precise... The Princess is mine, until I unlock the secret of the Flames of Disaster."
Sonic protectively threw his arms out in front of Sonia. "Tails!"
"Got it! Let's go!" Tails replied, taking a fighting stance with Sonic.
"I'll take care of you now. An early breakfast for my pet," Eggman said as he unleashed Egg-Cerberus on them. Egg-Cerberus roared aggressively. Sonic and Tails fearlessly charged into battle.
"This is your pet, huh? Okay, Eggman. I'll play with him," Sonic quipped. Sonic ran in large circles around the giant, robotic canine, looking for its weak point. Tails did the same as he stayed close to Sonic. The two easily evaded Egg-Cerberus charging at them.
Sonic jumped onto Egg-Cerberus' tail, slid along its back, and jumped onto the antenna, which controlled where it went. "Sonic! Make him run into something!" Tails shouted. Sonic followed Tails' advice, making Egg-Cerberus run into one of the walls, breaking off the mask on its face, which exposed its 'eyes'.
"Hey, I can finally see your face! Now it's my turn!" Sonic said. After avoiding another attack, Sonic tried to get the mechanical beast to run into the wall again, but it managed to turn around at the last second.
"Hmph! Listen to me!" Sonic snapped. After being thrown off, Sonic tried again; this time, managing to get Egg-Cerberus to run into the wall. After a few more rounds of charging and getting thrown off, Sonic got the robot to run into the wall one more time, bringing it down.
"Sonic! I won't let you get away!" Eggman snarled as the hyperactive hedgehog got away with Tails and Sonia.

The three stopped to catch their breath. Sonia was surprised to see Tails fly. "Is this one of your friends, Sonic?" she asked, gesturing to Tails.
"My name's Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails," Tails introduced himself. "I'm Sonic's best friend. Right, Sonic?" Sonic smiled and nodded his confirmation.
"I'm Sonia," Sonia said. "Nice to meet you, Tails. How long have you known each other?"
"I was about four. Sonic gave me my nickname because I didn't like my real one too well," Tails explained. He sheepishly scratched his head.
"How old are you now?" Sonia asked curiously.
"I turned twelve a few months ago."
Sonia was surprised. "Really? You look older."
"He acts older too," Sonic added, ruffling the fox's bangs.
Tails laughed while fixing his bangs. "I act older than you!"
Sonic put his friend in a headlock. "Whatever!"
The kit giggled as he struggled against his older opponent. "Yep! Now let go!"
"No way, Tails!" Sonic shot back, giving him a noogie.
Sonia rolled her eyes as she watched the two wrestle with each other. 'Boys.' She then thought of something as she watched their behavior. 'Sonic used to do that with Manic,' she realized.
Suddenly, they noticed that a fleet of Egg Gunners was flying towards them. "How long is this gonna go on?" Sonic groaned, crossing his arms over his chest. He flicked his left ear in a dismissive manner, showing that he was starting to get annoyed.
"Let's split up," Tails suggested. "I'll get their attention and you take the Princess." Sonic and Sonia exchanged a look.
"Okay," Sonic said, giving a thumbs up. "You be careful, Tails."
"Leave it to me!" Tails replied. He then took off.
Sonic picked up Sonia, carrying her bridal-style. "Hold on tight!"
"Okay!" Sonia replied. Sonic took off in a different direction than Tails, planning to meet back up later.
Through their triplet telepathy, Sonic had sensed Sonia's thoughts about his and Tails' behavior towards each other. As he ran, Sonic explained to Sonia that, while Tails was his little brother, he wasn't replacing her and Manic with him. They escaped the desert, dealing with Egg Gunners and other Eggman robots along the way.