Hop To It - Advance 22

[Eggman]

“You won’t get away with this!” Tails cried, only to be silenced by a large metal finger covering his mouth.

Eggman grinned at the fox in his machine’s claws. “We’ll see about that, boy.”

He turned to look back the way they came. The Manta ship was on a direct course to Techno Base… but Ivo wouldn’t be heading there with it. He had his hostages, and he intended to use them. Make Sonic reckless. Eggman would have as many opportunities to destroy that blue menace as he wanted, and all he had to do was dangle his friends just out of reach.

“Hohoho…” He turned to the rest of his prisoners, looking them over.

Only Rose, the hare, and some rabbit woman he’d never seen before. Disappointing, but then the furry freaks put up a better fight then he was expecting. The hare had taken a knock against the hull due to him struggling against ZERO too much, while the woman simply seemed frightened out of her mind. As for Rose…

“Sonic’s going to take you down like he always does,” the pink hedgehog spat. “So why don’t you just give up now and let us go!”

Ivo snorted at the audacity. It was almost charming. “I think not, you little brat. ZERO, send those two to the holding cells to be sent along to the base. I’m going to take Rose hedgehog-hunting.”

Rose glared at him.

Ignoring her, he pointed at a random robot. “You take Prower to Music Plant and prepare my weapons.”

That reminded him, actually, he should send a team after that musician. Perhaps he’d be more willing to join once he knows what’s at stake. Ivo can be very persuasive.

He traded Prower over to ZERO and took Rose in his pod’s grip. “Let me go!”

“I could,” Eggman sneered. “But are you sure that’s what you want?” As he said this, he floated up and away from the Manta ship, and Rose quieted at the heights below her.

Hm, he needed to shore up his hostage count… where was Angel Island again? Last he checked it was spotted heading toward land again.

Rose struggled in his grip and managed to kick the side of the Egg Mobile, slightly upsetting its flight pattern, and he held her further away from him.

All that could be dealt with later. Right now, he needed to focus on Sonic. Where to lure him first?

Hm… he had a logging operation in Leaf Forest. Yes, that would do nicely.

Mecha Sonic mk. III landed on the ship with a clunk.

“Mecha, there you are. Get back to base, you’re on guard duty!”

The robot saluted limply, but Eggman had already left.

------------------------------

[Sonic]

It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize he was being followed. Really, he should be more aware of these sorts of things, since Tails and Amy both used to do the same thing all the time, but he still wasn’t expecting to see a yellow rabbit girl not only following after him, but keeping up.

Granted, Sonic wasn’t going at his top speed, since he was saving some energy for when he ran into some badniks, but still. A little kid like that keeping pace with him was nothing to sneeze at. Although he was even more impressed at the Chao flying next to her. How did something with wings that small fly so fast?

Anyway, once he finally realized she was there, Sonic skidded to a stop, letting her zoom past him for a second before circling back to meet him.

“Nice hustle, kid, but what are you doing following me?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know. No one could resist an Eggman-beating adventure, after all.

The girl’s cheeks puffed out and she stomped her feet. “Eggman took my Mama, and I’m going to get her back!”

…Okay, so not quite the reason he expected. “Ouch. I feel for you, but this is gonna be dangerous. You sure you’re up for it?”

She just smiled. “I’m strong, right Cheese!”

“Chao!” They both flexed their forearms, and Sonic couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Alright, alright…” Well, this wasn’t the first time he’d picked up a kid sidekick and he doubted it would be the last. “If you think you’re up for it, try to keep up!”

“I will, Mr. Sonic!” She bowed steeply. “My name is Cream, and this is my Chao Cheese!”

“Chao chao!”

“Nice meeting you. Now let’s step it up, cuz if I know Eggman, he’s gonna be waiting for us. So we need to--”

Sonic stopped, because Cream had suddenly looked up, distracted, with her lopping ears perking up a little. He almost asked what was up when he heard it too: a dull roar that he recognized as powerful engines. He looked up too, in time to see a huge mismatched mess of a robot soar overhead, followed by a much smaller (eerily familiar) drone, and something that he actually recognized: the Y-Nought, Humi’s mech, leaping after them.

Sonic, Cream and Cheese watched the trio go. “...Huh?”

Cream hummed. “Those looked like Humi’s robots, didn’t it? She must be going after Mr. Eggman too.”

Sonic’s lips twitched. “Mr. Eggman? Cream, you gotta call him that to his face, it’ll be hilarious.” He sniffed, then grinned. “So, Humi thinks she can pull ahead, huh? We’ll see about that! Let’s go bust some heads!”

“Okay!”

“Chao!”

------------------------------------------

[Rouge]

Good grief, did Eggman ever sleep?

“What do we know?” Tower asked, as they hurried to the command center.

“A single ship bearing Eggman’s logo flew by the coast off Station square one hour and thirty minutes ago, then came back the other way half an hour later, approximately,” Palisade reported, checking her communicator to double check.

“And why are we only learning about it now?” Tower asked.

“Lt. Trench was conducting an interview with a sergeant who’d been displaying suspicious behavior, sir, and he’s the only one with a direct line to you since Bulwark went on vacation--”

“Another hole to patch up, got it,” Tower grunted. “...what’s the verdict on the sergeant?”

“He was just worried about his car breaking down, but that’s not important.”

“Reports indicate it was heading towards Mystic Ruins,” Bunker informed them.

Rouge gasped and lifted off to fly ahead of them. “I have friends who live there, let me call and see what’s happening.”

“Approved, Agent Rouge.”

The bat flipped her phone open and dialled Heyu’s number.

“...”

“...No good. Let me try…” She had Amy’s now, so call her next.

“...”

“Still no response.” Getting worried now, Rouge tried one more time.

“...hi, who is this?”

Rouge sighed in relief. “Humi, darling, it’s Rouge. G.U.N. just got a report that Eggman was spotted heading your way. Is everything okay?”

Tower and Palisade were listening carefully.

Humi took a second to respond. “...No,” she said at length. “Tails and Amy got kidnapped, and pops too. Sonic showed up too late to stop it but he’s off to take care of it now.”

That was… not good news, but not the worst. “Oh my, do you need, or want us to send someone out to help?”

“No thanks, I’ve got this.” Humi paused. “You could maybe send someone out to the village, the others were kinda shaken, but I’m doing fine.”

Rouge glanced at her superiors. “Are you sure?”

“Gotta go, Rouge, there’s an Eggman base ahead. I’m going to destroy it. Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Humi, are you sure you--”

“Oh, before I forget, I finally upgraded that Hunter. It’s not quite how I pictured it but I think you’ll like it. Meet me back in the village when this is over and we’ll see if we can make a deal.”

Rouge blinked, and then a dial tone poured out of the speaker. “...Goodness, she’s upset.”

“Was she?” Palisade asked. “She sounded calm to me.”

“She didn’t make fun of my name or make a cheesy pun. That’s not normal for her.”

Tower snorted, slowing down. “If Sonic’s already on the case, then there’s no more need for urgency on our part. Still, it might get us some good will to send a few out to the village like she said. Find Corporal House, he’s interacted with the Fivers before.”

“It’s a Mobian-only village, sir,” Rouge said. “So far at least.” She tilted her head. “Perhaps this could be an easy recon mission for the new recruits.”

Palisade quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” Then she thought about it and nodded. “Actually, you’re right. Private Smithy has displayed a talent for designing weapons. He might be useful in negotiating with the mouse.”

“Ahem.”

The three of them turned around to find Private Starr following them. 

The platypus gave a short nod. “If I may, I overheard you mention a ‘Fiver?’ Is this the same hare that I met in the library not long ago? If so, I might be inclined to volunteer for this mission…”

-----------------------------

[Heyu]

I woke up, and I really wished I hadn’t. My head was killing me.

Waking up with a headache wasn’t entirely uncommon, though it had been a while; the last time it happened was shortly before the Station Square invasion, funnily enough--no, I tell a lie, I had one after the ARK, too, though it was different. That one felt like the same ache I got when the Chaos Emeralds gave me visions, so I assumed that one was because of all the energy I’d been exposed to. It went away quickly enough.

This headache was not magic-based. I was pretty sure I woke up because my head lolled over and the knot on my scalp brushed against the bed. If this was a bed, it felt too hard to have a mattress.

For a second, I kept laying there, trying to get back to sleep, hoping that the pain would subside if I just held still. It never worked, but you know. Maybe it… would…

Something felt incorrect.

My eyes cracked open and I forced myself to sit up, swinging my legs onto the floor, and memories started flowing back in.

Right. Robotnik. Badniks. I got kidnapped, and so did--

He got Tails and Amy.

The kids were able to take care of themselves, I knew that, but he managed to capture them and who knew what he’d do to them? Tails was nine, for Gaia’s sake!

“Urgh…” I winced as my head throbbed, glaring a hole through a particular bolt in the floor panelling. Everything in the room was made out of metal. Gray metal floors, gray metal ceiling, red metal walls with Robotnik’s stupid grinning logo on them. One wall was metal bars between me and a hallway.

…Okay. So. I was in a cell. He hadn’t done anything to me, as far as I know, so maybe Tails and Amy were… but I don’t think I’ve done anything to earn his ire. Did I? I’ve wrecked a bunch of badniks. Would that be enough?

Ugh. I reached for my belt. I needed something to eat and all I had on me was peppermints. My hand hit my waist and only found fur.

My belt and my vest were gone. My rings were gone. Of course they were, Robotnik saw me throwing them around, of course he wouldn’t let me keep them. Why should anything be easy?

Okay. What did I have to work with?

My foot bounced in place. I didn’t have anything.

“Hm.” Time to experiment. I stood up and strode over to the bars, looking them over. They were solid metal, probably steel, and there didn’t seem to be a door… aha, they were designed to slide up or possibly down into slots. Moving parts were easier to break than solid bars would be, right? Probably. So, I took a sharp step back and bounced on my toes for a second.

Rings made you stronger, faster, and generally better, I was aware, but surely I’d been carrying so many for so long that some of it might have rubbed off on me, right? Did that make sense? Or maybe I’d gotten enough exercise that some of that extra strength became natural. Only one way to find out. I was so glad that grind shoes tended to be lightly armored.

I pulled back one leg, and snapped it forward into the bars.

Ow. Probably not steel, I judged as the bar sang out from the vibration. The pitch was off for that, probably some special alloy of Robotnik’s. Also, not hollow. Again, ow.

I sighed. Frankly if it had worked I’d have been surprised but I was disappointed anyway.

“What was that?”

My eyes widened and I pressed myself against the bars. “Vanilla?” I stuck my hand out into the hall. “Where are you?”

“I’m right next to you,” she said, sticking her own arm out where I could see it. “Hayden, what’s happening?”

“We’ve been captured,” I said. “To what end, I’m not sure, but hopefully it won’t be long.” I looked behind me at my cell. “Do you have a toilet in yours? I don’t, and I don’t have to go yet but I had a soda before the attack and it’s only a matter of time--”

“Can you not joke right now?” she snapped. “Please tell me you have a way out of here!”

“Hm.” My head was the widest part of my body. The bars were a little far apart… no, unfortunately not enough. “I’m working on it. I suppose I can keep kicking. Maybe I can break the mechanism and the bar will fall into the floor.”

“Oh, dear…” Vanilla’s arm pulled back in. “Cream, I hope you’re not too scared…”

“Mm.” I sat back down on the bed. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Cream’s tough.”

“Aren’t you worried about Humi?”

Was I? She was smarter than me, and she had Iota, was surrounded by people I trusted, and she was resourceful… Oh, she absolutely wasn’t going to wait around for Sonic to save the day, was she? And Robotnik has already proven he wasn’t willing to play fair.

“A little bit,” I admitted. “But I think she’s--” My ears twitched.

I heard footsteps. Heavy ones, metallic. Robots. No, robot. Just one?

“She’s what?”

“We’ve got company,” I said quietly.

The footsteps approached, and I heard Vanilla gasp under her breath once she started hearing it too. The echo of the metal hallways made it impossible to know how far away it was, but it took a few minutes before… Mecha Sonic appeared, carrying two trays of food. 

The Sonic lookalike stared at me, and I stared back. At some point that featureless visor he’d had had been replaced by actual yellow eyes, glowing from behind a black pane. An upgrade of some sort?

He waited just long enough to be awkward, then set one of the trays down, freeing up that arm to turn into a gun, which he pointed at me. The bar I’d kicked earlier fell down into the floor, giving just enough access for Mecha to set the tray down inside before stepping back and closing the cell off again.

…I wondered if I could have moved fast enough to get him before he fired. Doubtful.

Mecha repeated the process, sans weapon, with Vanilla, before nodding to her and walking back the way he came.

“Thank you.”

The robot paused midstep at Vanilla’s words, then continued on like it hadn’t happened.

“Odd.” I looked down at the tray. It was some unidentifiable gruel that had absolutely no scent. I certainly wasn’t going to eat it, but I picked up the spoon that came with it. It was a tool I didn’t have before; I was wondering if it might be possible to pry up one of the floor panels with it when I caught sight of my reflection in the bowl and ran my tongue over my front teeth. “Dagnabbit. That sucks.”

“What?”

“One of my teeth got chipped. It looks awful.” I sighed. “I guess I was putting off that dentist trip for long enough. Maybe they can wear them back down to where they were; ugh, that’s going to be unpleasant.” At least I could get Humi a tooth cleaning while I was there… in fact, I needed to get her a doctor’s appointment and establish some medical records for her, in case we ever needed them. That was probably going to be a whole-day affair.

“How are you so calm?” Vanilla asked, shaking me out of my meandering thoughts. “We’re in a prison cell, and you’re talking about the dentist. How?”

“I worked customer service," I said, chuckling. “Nah, I kid. There’s just nothing I can do right now, so there’s no sense in worrying about it. Or that’s the way I see it, anyway.” I thought it over. “It helps that this is the third time I’ve gotten wrapped up in this nonsense this year. I’m getting used to it.”

…

My eyes widened. “Oh Gaia, I’m getting used to it. I used to be a cashier.”

Vanilla let out a startled laugh, then I heard metal clinking from her cell. “...Ugh. Whatever this is, it tastes awful. Don’t bother.”

“You’re a braver bunny than I, madam.” I leaned back, twirling the spoon around my fingers, and settled in for a long wait.

“What were you saying before?”

I blinked. “Before what?”

“About Humi. How are you keeping from worrying about her?”

Oh, right. “She’s capable,” I said simply. “I don’t want her to go off gallivanting… but she’s got gumption and heavy ordinance.” I grinned. “She’ll be fine. You should have seen her last adventure, she was a one-mouse army.”

I heard creaking as she sat on her own bed. “I don’t suppose you’d like to share the story? We’ve got time.”

I checked my wrist. Still didn’t have a watch. “Sure, why not? My part in the whole mess started when Mecha Sonic--that bot we just saw--kidnapped Humi right out of my mom’s arms in the market…”