Here is chapter 2 of Manic the Hedgehog's constant screw ups. Special thanks to my cat Oliver for sitting on me and keeping me warm and entertained while I wrote this. Criticism always appreciated.
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"How pitiful. The hedgehog never lasted a minute, rather disappointing really." The woman had been trailing Manic ever since he had left the sewer, a shining emerald in his hand.
She had watched him strutting around the streets with impatience, waiting for just the right moment to strike, and now a Swatbot had reached him before she could even land a blow, it was rather inconvenient, for now the emerald was going to be even more of a pain to grab.
"I suppose such a beautiful gem would naturally be worth the challenge though." Rouge mused to herself, her gaze on the departing Swatbot, already flying away with it's built in rockets, Rouge would never be able to catch up, her wings simply weren't built for such high speed chase.
Not that it mattered, Rouge already knew exactly where the Swatbot was heading. She'd been watching all of Robotnik's activities for awhile now, and had managed to work out where his closest base of operations was located. She spread her wings and took off to the sky, now dark, though that was Rouge's favourite time of day, as a bat she was naturally more content in the night. Her vision felt sharper too, it was the perfect time to grab the emerald, she knew at this rate there would be no other chance once it landed into the hands of Robotnik.
"That's if the pesky hedgehog still has the emerald, anyway." Rouge sighed, reflecting on how she'd lost sight of him in an alleyway at one point. Only sighting him once again at an old burnt down church. The hedgehog had seemed different after that, less careful and more eager. Rouge wasn't sure what the hedgehog had been so excited about, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the emerald, and she was now more determined than ever to get her hands on it.
Her flight took her to the north of the city, where buildings gave way to a large metal fence. It was no problem for Rouge to simply fly over it, though she silently took note of the attached cameras, and made sure to avoid them.
Stealth was Rouge's greatest strength, and she used it to her advantage always. If Robotnik managed to detect her, there would be trouble. Rouge had watched as unlucky Mobians before her had set off the alarms, and had just as quickly been dragged away by a small army of various Swatbots. She'd never seen them again. She shivered at the memory, though blamed it on the chilly night air and continued towards the base.
Finally, she made it, and without tripping any alarms. The northern base was cold and almost seemed haunting in appearance. Rouge knew that many Mobians had been taken here to lose their will, and to become robotic slaves. She saw them now, patrolling the main entrance.
The robots were difficult to distinguish, it was almost impossible to tell what kind of animals they had been in their previous life. Now they marched back and forth, their blood red eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness.
Rouge acted quickly, flying up to the closest air vent, she lunged towards it, foot first, then she started spinning. "Screw kick!" The vent gate collapsed and was knocked away under Rouge's forceful kick, and Rouge entered the now open vent before the nearby guards could take notice of the damage.
Rouge flinched as the gate of the vent fell down to the floor with a loud clang. She held her breath, crouched in the vent as she heard nearby robots march towards where the vent had fallen.
Her pulse throbbed as the robots drew near, inspecting the broken vent gate on the ground. "Don't send out an alarm". Rouge silently pleaded, her teeth grinding anxiously, the robots far too close for comfort.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the robots drew away, and resumed their positions at the main entrance. Rouge sighed of relief, and started to crawl deeper into the vent.
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Manic felt completely paralyzed with fear, or atleast he would be, if not for the Swatbots forcing him to move, dragging him around like a lifeless doll. He would really be lifeless soon, he thought miserably. Once they reached the Robotosizer it would be all over for Manic.
"HEDGEHOG PROTOCOL ENGAGED." Manic was frightened out of his skin at the sudden command of the Swatbot. Why would there need to be a special protocol for hedgehogs anyway? Was Robotnik needing hedgehogs for something in particular?
Manic's thoughts were interrupted when he was suddenly yanked into a white room which held a daunting metal table in the middle, various painful looking tools surrounded it. "Oh boy, I get to be tortured, just great." Manic drawled, as the Swatbot placed him on the table. Before Manic could struggle, metal bands covered his arms and legs, he was trapped.
"Hey man, easy on the bod, I bruise easily y'know?" Manic cringed as the Swatbot, taking no notice of him, prepared to take out one of the tools on the tray beside Manic. "Dude, just like, put me out of my misery already." He was beyond stressed out at this point, his panic was sending him into a borderline fit. His heartbeat was so loud, he wondered if even the Swatbot could hear it.
"Youch!" Manic hissed as a needle jabbed him right in the arm. It was completely unexpected and he'd been unprepared for the sudden pain it caused him. Manic hated needles with a passion and felt sick as his blood was taken from him.
The Swatbot placed the sample in a tray, where a janitor bot immediately took it away, heading out of the room and towards God knows where. "Since when does Buttnik take blood? Is he like, a vampire now?" Manic joked to himself weakly, confusion all over his face.
"Even worse, hedgehog." A sinister voice whispered too close for comfort. "Your worst nightmare." Manic gasped as Robotnik himself loomed towards him. His blood ran cold, and Robotnik smiled, pleased by the look of terror on the young hedgehog's face.
The man was large in size, though only in width. He had a long mustache and a bald head, with menacing red eyes and large teeth, his thin lips twisted into a sneer. The pointy red suit he was wearing only seemed to bring out his roundness, and he looked rather ridiculous with the small yellow cape trailing behind him. However, the most unusual thing about his appearance was his single robotic arm, as if he'd been partially Robotosized.
"What's your name, rodent? If you even have one. My reports show that you was caught stealing, I imagine trash like you wouldn't have a name." The fat man chuckled to himself, it sounded like a cat having a hairball, incredibly unpleasant.
"I do! And it's Manic!" Manic snapped and immediately regretted it, the last thing he should do is hand over information about himself, but being tied to the table and feeling so helpless had gotten him too panicked to think straight. He cursed at Robotnik's widening grin. The man was clearly enjoying Manic's suffering.
"Well, Manic. You clearly aren't one of the three that I'm searching for, I won't even remember your name by the time you've been Robotosized. Guards, take this vermin away and prepare the Robotosizer." At that, Robotnik, ignoring the look of despair and confusion on Manic's face, proceeded to march away.
"Goodbye, rodent." Before Manic could question anything, the Swatbot took him off of the table and started to drag him away once again.
Manic was taken down a corridor, and thrown into a cage. It resembled a jail cell, and he noted that several other cells were next to his own. This room was clearly where captured victims were kept while waiting to be Robotosized.
Manic sat down in the corner of the cell, massaging his aching arm where the needle had been. He sighed miserably, reflecting on his life in his final moments. He had always felt like his destiny was something much bigger than this, it kept him up at night, but now that was all over. Manic would never dream again.
Minutes passed, though they felt like hours as anxiety crawled through Manic's skin. "Man, this really, really blows." He sighed to himself. "What I wouldn't give to get outta here."
He stood up and paced the cell, feeling agitated. Every sense was on alert, and that's when Manic heard a slight shuffle, and another, and finally a soft bang followed by the sound of a piece of metal giving way.
"Is somebody out there?" Manic called, and was greeted in response by a sudden white blur flying into his cell.
"Woah!" Manic cried out as the cell doors were broken immediately under the force of the white blur, and Manic's side was suddenly grabbed and hauled upwards, into the hole of a broken air vent near the ceiling.
"Hey! What-" Manic grunted in surprise, but was suddenly cut off by a finger to his mouth. "Ssh!" A voice whispered firmly, and shoved him forwards. Manic took the hint and started crawling through the vent, the mysterious figure right behind him.
The vent was dark and cold, not to mention far too closed in. Though Manic wasn't claustrophobic, after all a thief like him was used to crawling through tight spaces, though it certainly wasn't the most ideal escape route.
A thought suddenly occurred to Manic. "Hey, what happened to the alarms?" He frowned.
"Deactivated. Keep moving." A gruff voice sounded behind him.
He nodded and picked up the pace, crawling through the twists and turns of the vents as quickly and quietly as he could. If they weren't careful, they would be detected.
Finally, Manic could detect fresh air, and he knew they were coming to the very end of the vent. He sped up, but cried out as he was sent almost falling down a steep drop right to the ground below.
He didn't realize they were so high up, here at the end of the vent they were practically at the roof of Robotnik's base. "Careful, idiot! I'm the one here with the wings." An impatient voice snapped, slipping past Manic and grabbing his bad arm with a yank.
"Ow!" Manic protested, as the stranger hoisted him out of the vent, and flew him up onto the roof.
Finally outside, Manic could finally turn to his rescuer. In the moonlight, Manic studied her features.
She was clearly a female, her black leather costume was tight, and showed off all of her curves. She had big white ears, and darker wings. However, what stood out most was her eyes, a bright glowing blue, with matching eyeshadow to compliment them.
"Woah, never seen you round these parts before." Manic smiled lightly, trying to brighten the situation, though still feeling jumpy. The woman placed a hand on her hip, and looked at Manic up and down, before matching his smile with her own.
"I'm Rouge the Bat. 14 years old, and my weight is... A secret!" She winked at Manic, who stuttered in response, unsure of what to say.
"Oh, and you're Manic, a hedgehog - obviously. 12 years old, a sandwich thief - how desperate. Oh yeah, I read your files on Robotnik's database, so stop looking at me like that." Rouge laughed at the gawping Manic. He was pretty cute for a dopey thief.
"Oh, and I went ahead and deleted the files, incase you're wondering. Wouldn't want ol' Botnik to have your information, you'd be in trouble, considering the Swatbots would have your bounty in their database. You're welcome." Rouge winked once again.
Manic shook himself, finally regaining his composure. "You did that? All by yourself? But how?" He was surprised to meet someone who knew how to get into Robotnik's system, it was unheard of.
"Easy, I own a chip that can override his system, don't bother trying to steal it by the way. I'd only steal it right back." She smirked, her blue eyes sparkling in mischief. "Speaking of stealing, hand over that emerald, hedgehog. You owe me."
"What! No way-" Manic protested, but was once again cut off when Rouge suddenly grabbed him.
"Hey, atleast buy me dinner first." Manic quipped but was ignored by the bat.
"We need to get out of here, the alarms will be back on any moment. Also, Robotnik will have noticed your erm, absence by now." She growled, hoisting him up into the air with a beat of her wings. "Damn, you're heavier than you look, kid." She hissed as she flew the two of them away from the base. She was careful not to fly in the sights of any patrolling robot. Especially since they'd be on high alert now.
"By the way." Rouge began. "Your name, Manic. I'm guessing that they call you that because of your kleptomania, right?" She chuckled at Manic's confused expression. "Clearly someone didn't go to school. You're like, a kleptomaniac, which sounds like Manic, duh."
Manic frowned, finding the bat difficult to understand, but nodded. "I guess it does, and I guess Rouge sounds like the makeup, which is why you're like, covered in it." Rouge rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Yeah, Klept. That's exactly why they call me Rouge." She drawled sarcastically, and this time Manic was the one to laugh.
Rouge swooped low, now back into the city, and a safe distance from Robotnik's base, though looking down she could see dozens of patrol bots down below, and she knew that the city streets would not be a safe hiding place tonight.
"It's your lucky day, Manic. You get to see my very own hideout." Rouge flapped her wings fiercely, picking up the pace, before catching a wind stream that sent her gliding to the west of the city.
"Wow, I was just in the western city a few hours ago, y'know?" Manic noted, though wasn't expecting Rouge's next response.
"I know. That's where I saw you outside the sewer, you were admiring the shiniest gem I'd ever seen. Been trailing you ever since, you really are dense considering you never even noticed." Rouge chuckled as Manic cursed inwardly. He'd been a complete fool to expose the emerald in daylight, where anyone could see it. It was a rookie mistake, and Manic had been making those a lot lately. Perhaps he wasn't the thief Farrell considered him to be after all.
"Oh honey, don't look so downhearted. Look, we're almost there." Rouge glided downwards, and finally landed on a white balcony, illuminated by the moonlight, where she finally put Manic down.
Her aching muscles rejoiced at finally having a break. She'd been working far too hard tonight, but it would all be worth it once she grabbed that emerald from him.