RABADP3

AN: Bartleby referring to Robotnik as Uncle is sort of similar to how the characters in Heidi referred to her grandfather as Alm-Uncle, or how people in Japan refer to close males who are much older than them.

Warning: Certain Characters will be very OOC as I am using quite a different interpretation for them. I like twisting character motivations and making villains into heroes and vice versa.

Chapter 3
The next morning, Bartleby had to practically drag Sonia to the dark, sadistic looking robotic palace. The night before, he had nearly convinced her to at least trust his judgment but all of his efforts had been undone by a terrible nightmare.
-

He had been sleeping rather soundly when a hand smacked him in the face, waking him up. He looked over to see his precious princess tossing and turning.

"No...leave my baby alone...GET AWAY!" She screamed, sitting bolt upright.

Bartleby wrapped her in his arms. "Sonia, Sonia wake up."

She opened her eyes, trembling. "I'm not going to Robotnik tomorrow. Forget it!"
-

She still hadn't told him what the dream was about but it was obvious. Now, here they were with her digging her heels into the ground.

"Bartleby, no! I won't! He'll hurt my baby!" Sonia insisted. "I won't do it!"

Bartleby put his hands on his hips. "He will not. Sonia, darling, please. Just trust me a while longer. I will die before I let him hurt you or our baby. But I promise, he won't even try."

"How can you be so sure!" She demanded.

"Because, I just am. There's more to him than you have allowed yourself to learn or see," he assured her. "Please my love, don't fight this."

She put her free hand on her hip. "Well, why do I need to see him anyway?"

"Because there's paperwork involved in this process," he told her. "Forms you need to sign. And he wants you to prove your sincerity by showing up to do it. Please Sonia. Trust him or at least trust me to protect you."

"Is there a problem?" A grouchy voice interrupted their argument.

Sonia squeaked and halted, gripping Bartleby's hand tighter. Normally, she wouldn't be so scared but now she had a baby to worry about.

Bartleby showed no such apprehension. "She is understandably frightened Lord Robotnik. Not only were you once enemies but she..."

"Is also experiencing hormonal changes as a result of being pregnant," Robotnik finished.

Sonia gasped and stood up straight. "You told him! Bartleby, you promised!"

Robotnik held up a commanding hand. "I forced him to tell me. Come, both of you. We will handle this inside, in a private chamber."

Bartleby smirked to realize that with the revelation that he had spilled the beans, Sonia was now too irritated to argue against going inside. "After you, my darling. Ow!" He yelped when she smacked him upside his blonde head.
-

They followed Robotnik, oddly enough, to what looked like an examination room complete with heart monitor and Ultrasound equipment. "Up on the table, Miss Hedgehog."

Sonia looked questioningly at Bartleby who simply nodded and helped her onto the examination table. "What are you doing?"

"You're pregnant, are you not. I may be the ruler of Robotropolis but I am also an accomplished doctor of many specialities. Including Obstetrician and Gynecologist," he proceeded to hook up the heart monitor to her womb. The sound of a heartbeat swimming inside a strange bubble was heard over the speakers

"Uncle is going to be taking care of you during this time," Bartleby explained. "Believe it or not, he was concerned for our child as I was not an easy baby for my mother."

Sonia glanced at Robotnik than at her lover. "He was?"

Bartleby nodded. "He is my godfather," he reminded her.

She bit her lip as she remembered. "That's right."

"You may not remember but he actually used to look after us when we were children," Bartleby told her.

She chanced another glance at the man she considered a tyrant. His expression was of pure professionalism as he dipped the ultrasound wand in a gel. She shivered at the cold of the gel. A fuzzy black and white image appeared on the screen.

"And that peanut Bartleby, is your baby," Robotnik told his godson. "In fact I think I am seeing two."

"Two Uncle? Are you sure? Two?" Bartleby asked. "Twins? Sonia, twins!" He grabbed her and kissed her excitedly.

She giggled involuntarily. "I heard him."

"Both heartbeats are sounding quite strong. Before you leave today, I will give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins," Robotnik put the equipment away and motioned for her to step down. "Now to business."
He pulled out a sheaf of forms. "Bartleby, I assume you brought the payment."

Bartleby handed him the check. "Naturally. Thank you again Uncle."

Sonia pulled out a form. "A marriage certificate dated two months ago?"

Robotnik nodded. "It would be quite scandalous for a noble like Bartleby to be having premarital relations. This protects you both from hideous rumors. Naturally, you only had a small, private civil ceremony with only Sleet and Dingo as witnesses. This check will be going to pay for the grand ceremony the two of you have been preparing to properly celebrate this joyous occasion."

Sonia held up her hand. "Wait, I don't get it. You're being nice, you're acting like a real person."

"Yes, because it's really outrageous to believe that I might actually mean well by you and the others in my city," he said simply.

"Well, you haven't really given us reason to believe otherwise," Sonia pointed out. "You roboticize anyone who dares to disagree with you. You even roboticized Lady Wyndemere!"

"Everyone I've ever roboticized has been criminals, those who threaten both themselves and others," Robotnik told her. "As for Lady Wyndmere, I found out later after her arrest that she was working secretly with the Resistance. I cannot have betrayal."

"Forgive her Uncle," Bartleby spoke for her. "She nor other Resistance members in her age group are told these things. All they are allowed to know about you is what they want them to think about you. She nor her brothers have been told the truth."

Sonia looked at her fiancé. "Truth? What haven't we been told?"

"Never mind that. You'll learn eventually now that you are no longer a part of that cult," Robotnik told her, taking the forms from her. He shoved a note sheet at her. "Take this and get out!" He ordered harshly.
-

Bartleby led Sonia from the palace swiftly. Sonia realized that she had been scared for nothing.

"That went a lot better than I expected," Sonia said.

Bartleby hugged her. "Yes, see, I told you it would be alright. Now, we can have our life. A wedding and honeymoon."

She grinned slyly. "A honeymoon? Where?"

He kissed her. "I hear Normandy is fine and fair. A beach where the peach blossom blows. A cozy inn with rows of windows facing the sea." He savored her lips as he painted the picture in her mind. "A meadow covered with mustard flowers as golden as the sun."

She closed her eyes. "It sounds lovely." She rest her head on his chest, feeling fatigued from her worry and nightmare the night before. "Twins."

He held her close. "Thank you for giving him a chance. He reminded me last night that my mother had complications delivering me. He was genuinely worried. Now, let's get you and our twins home to bed. I'll take the prescription to the pharmacy for your vitamins."

Tired, she didn't argue and simply let him take her home.
-

Manic found Sonic sulking over a dozen uneaten chili dogs. He had planned to tell the Freedom Fighters about Sonia but Manic was able to talk him into letting them sleep instead.

"Sonic, are you sure you want to just erase Sonia from our lives?" Manic asked. "She's our sister, we've been through too much together."

Sonic sighed. "I don't know Manic. I know I don't want Bartleby near her."

"But Sonic, she loves him. She's having his baby for crying out loud," Manic reasoned. "We're gonna be uncles!"

"She betrayed us Manic!" Sonic insisted. "Now all of our work to find Mom is worthless."

Manic shook his head. "No it isn't. We can still look for Ma. And I doubt Bartleby's gonna tell Sonia that she can't see her mother. Sonic, I know this sucks. But disowning her isn't going to change her mind."

"Change her mind," Sonic looked up. "You're right. We can't just forget her. We have to get her to change her mind."

"What? Sonic, I don't know...I mean she seems so happy with him," Manic argued. "And the baby is his too, he has a right as the father to be there."

Sonic shook his head. "And if he wasn't a noble idiot, I Would agree with you. However, he is a noble. He takes what he wants and discards the rest. He'll do the same to her in time." He stood up. "It's our job to protect her from that."

Manic considered his brother's words. Sonic spoke as though he knew them to be fact but he was unsure. "How will you do it? What will you do when she refuses?"

"Of course, I'll try reasoning with her first. She's a smart girl. But if I have to, I'll kidnap her and take her to Sanctuary myself," Sonic replied. "When she's away from his influence, she'll come to her senses."

Manic said nothing in response. He knew Sonic meant well but sometimes he just acted without really thinking about the effects of his actions. He didn't know which of his siblings to support in this situation.
-

AN: Wow, Manic's caught between a rock and a hard place isn't he? What will he do? Will Sonic's plan succeed or will he do more harm than good? What is the truth about Robotnik? Stay tuned and find out.