Episode 37: The Tortoise and the Hedgehogs

Far out in the Forbidden Zone, there is a large warehouse in the area. Usually, the Forbidden Zone doesn't have any buildings or people who live there. Not this time around. One day, two Mobians rabbits are walking towards the warehouse now.

One of them is a male yellow rabbit with green eyes. He wears a light brown vest, shirt, brown belt gold buckle, brown shoes and gloves. He is also wearing a backpack on his back. The second is a black rabbit with red eyes. She is wearing a black long sleeve leather jacket with spikes on the collar, a red sleeveless blouse, black jeans, red and white shoes and she carries a black purse with a sword attached to her belt in the scabbard.

The two rabbits approach the warehouse and look around the area to see no robots are around. The boy rabbit presses the red square button at the door. Opening the door is Drago the Wolf. Sleuth, and the rest of the Destructix.

The yellow rabbit says, "Good day, mates. Mind if we come in?"

However, Drago sternly says, "I suggest you two turn around and go find a carrot little bunnies, before you become our dinner."

"Hey doc. Relax. I was invited by…" The yellow rabbit says.

But Simian grabs the rabbit by his brown shirt, "You don't get the hint, do ya? Too bad for you.

The black rabbit sternly says, "I suggest you let him go. We might be smaller than you, but we're tougher than we look."

Lightening steps in, "You sure have some potential for two cotton balls."

However, someone shouts, "Wait! Don't hurt them!"

Everyone turns their heads to see Tommy Turtle walking over to them.

Tommy says, "It's my fault they're here. Uh, I'm the one who, um, invited them… You see, they're my friends and…"

However Flying Frog begins to laugh, "A geek like you has friends?"

"Ha! You're killing me!" Predator adds.

Tommy nervously smiles and says, "You're my friends. Aren't you?"

"And you should count yourselves lucky to have a friend like Tommy Turtle. We do."

"Oh yeah? How do you two know Tommy?" Predator interrogates.

"We knew Tommy for years," The black rabbit says.

The yellow rabbit says, "When we were kids. I used to pick on him all the time. I was so fast and Tommy's so slow… I thought we were nothing alike."

"I told him that Tommy may not be fast, but he has a good heart," The black rabbit says.

"Of course, Tommy got fed up and challenged me to a race. I laughed out a yes," The yellow rabbit says.

The black rabbit smirks, "Yeah. However, you got too cocky and decided to take a nap close to the finish line. By the time you woke up, Tommy crossed the finish line and won your race."

She then hugs Tommy, "You never gave up and you ended up winning the race."

"Yeah. We respected him for not giving up and realized… that standing up for himself that way… then maybe we were more alike than I thought. We became great friends ever since," The yellow rabbit says.

"We were?" Tommy asks.

Drago gets up at Tommy making him duck in his shell, "What's wrong with you?! Our meeting is just under two hours from now!"

"Don't worry none, wolfie. I'll stay out of your fur and your meeting," The yellow rabbit says.

"You do that or we'll have that dinner," Drago says, annoyed.

Then leaves the group, "Ah, I don't have time for this. I've got some more details to take care of."

"Don't worry, Drago, I'll take care of it," Sleuth says.

Drago and the Destructix leave the room leaving Sleuth with Tommy and the two rabbits. Sleuth then escort Tommy and the two rabbits down the hall.

Sleuth walks to the rabbits and asks, "are you tired uh..?"

"Juice. The name is Juice. And this is my sister Usagi," The yellow rabbit, Juice says.

Then they stop at a door, "Here you go… an extra room for you two to stay in."

Usagi and Juice walk into the room.

"Cool," Juice says.

Usagi takes Tommy's hand with a smile, "Come on Tommy, we got some catching up to do."

However, Sleuth then takes Tommy away from Usagi and begins to make his leave with the turtle.

"You'll have to catch up tomorrow morning. I need his help now. Right Tommy?" Sleuth says.

"Yeah… tomorrow," Tommy nervously says.

"I see. Well, I hope we'll see each other tomorrow," Usagi says.

"Right. You both should rest. I… I'm sure you both must be tired trying to find your way here," Tommy nervously says.

"Sorry. It's a matter of top priority," Sleuth says.

Then turns to Tommy with a vicious smirk, "Or should I say top dog. Right, Tommy?"

"Uh, yes sir," Tommy says, nervously.

Juice and Usagi watch as Sleuth and Tommy take their leave. Even though they can tell that Tommy is being forced to go with him. Once they're gone. Juice and Usagi walk back into the room, and Juice closes the door.

Usagi sighs, "I was hoping we could have told Tommy the real reason why we're here."

"I know, but I think Tommy already knows it's us," Juice says. He then pulls his years and removes the face to reveal Sonic.

Then Usagi does the same to reveal Eve's face.

Eve shakes her head, "It's about time we got the costumes off. They were starting to feel uncomfortable."

Sonic and Eve remove the rest of their costume and their quills spread out.

"Yeah. My quills feel like they're going to bend and my spine is starting to suffocate," Sonic says.

"At least Nicole was able to give us the right location to where Tommy is being held, but we still don't know what Sleuth and the Destructix are up to," Eve says.

"With Mammoth Mogul gone to who knows where, they're going to need new employment," Sonic says.

Then says, "Still, I guess what we said isn't exactly a lie. I remember you and Sally liked to play with him back when we were kids. I thought he was a geek."

"Yeah. We would have been friends after the race a long time ago, if Robotnik didn't took over the city the night after," Eve says.

"Yeah. Many of us were scattered and only some of us were able to get to Knothole safely. Tommy was one of the kids who were never found. That is, until we found him hiding deep in the forest where many of the other missing people were," Eve says.

"Yeah, but now is kidnapped and brought here for some reason and we need to get him out," Sonic says.

Eve turns her head to notice an ventilation shaft, "And I see our way in."

Not long, Sonic opens the air vent and he crawls through the ventilation shaft. Eve follows after him. The two crawl down the ventilation shaft to figure out how to rescue Tommy.

Eve says, "You look really determined to rescue Tommy. I mean, I want to rescue him too, but you seem more serious."

"Well… I felt that I had to come and save Tommy… especially after all the teasing I did to him as a kid," Sonic says.

"Tommy knows you never meant to hurt him. He knows that you're very kind and caring and always do what you can to help, but you did took your teasing a little far," Eve says.

"I just hope Sally doesn't try to check up on us while we're in the vent. And honestly, this place feels really cramped," Eve says.

Sonic whispers, "I hear voices."

Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice, "Well… it's about time you come here. I was starting to lose my patients."

Sonic and Eve secretly sneaks over and looks through the opening to see the Destructix and Tommy. What's more, Dr. Eggman, Snively, and his Swatbots are with them.

"Dr. Eggman and Snively. We should have known," Eve says.

"Yeah. This is something that Dr. Eggman would do. Let's see what's going on," Sonic whispers.

The two siblings remain quiet and listen in on the conversation.

Dr. Eggman says, "Alright men, I have hired you to kidnap the little turtle in hoping to bring out my plan to destroy the Freedom Fighters. And I also have you to thank… right A.D.A.M."

The computer monitor turns on behind Eggman to reveal a dark screen and a green dot in the middle.

"Yes father," A metallic male voice answers.

Sonic and Eve continue to listen in on the conversation. Whatever is going on, Eggman and Snively have a computer A.I called A.D.A.M on the scene. Even though the vent is cramped, they know that they must remain still.

Still Sonic says, "A.D.A.M? What kind of being is named A.D.A.M?"

"I'm not sure. It's probably one of Eggman's creations," Eve suspects.

"Yeah. The computer is definitely Eggman all over his uh, hard drive," Sonic says.

"Let's just wait and see what happens. He has plans for Tommy," Eve says.

"Another plan that involves him wanting to destroy us," Sonic whispers.

"Let's see what they have to say," Eve says.

Sonic nods his, and the two hedgehogs continue to listen in on the conversation.

Sleuth then drags the turtle over and says, "Alright, we got the little Turtle."

"Glad that you decided to bring one of my former roboticized minions," Eggman says.

Tommy ducks his head in his shell and asks, "Wha-what do you want with me?"

"Nothing really. I just thought, we should let A.D.A.M take things from here," Eggman says, eagerly.

"A.D.A.M?" Tommy asks.

"It stands for, Autonomous Digital Assault Microbe. And we have a few plans for you Tommy Turtle. With you being a good friend of the Freedom Fighters, you must know quite a bit of information about them," A.D.A.M says.

"I-I-I don't know if I know a lot about them," Tommy nervously says.

Suddenly, tentacles begin to appear from the computer and surround Tommy, "Oh. I believe you do. After all, you are friends with two of the strongest Freedom Fighters, Sonic and Eve the Hedgehogs."

"How… How do you know about them?" Tommy nervously asks.

"I know quite a lot about the Freedom Fighters. Thanks to father giving me every data he has about them," A.D.A.M says, and spreads his tentacles to surround Tommy.

With that, Tommy then hides himself into his shell, even his arms and legs.

Drago steps forward, "So Eggman, where do we get out of the deal? We brought you the turtle and I'm sure the two annoying hedgehogs will be on the way."

Sonic and Eve soon become confused.

"You will receive your payment when they both of those meddling hedgehogs show up," Eggman says.

Sleuth smirks and says, "I have a feeling they already have. After all… we had the little shy turtle send them an S.O.S to have them come here."

"Yeah. Those two hedgehogs have no clue they are falling into a trap," Flying says, beginning laughing.

Simian says, "We must not underestimate them, especially the girl hedgehog. She may be fast as her brother, but she is also powerful and cunning."

"I agree with Simian. Predator and I were able to fight her in the Illegal Tournament," Lighting says.

"And even then she barely was able to beat us," Predator says.

"Yeah. But as long as we have the turtle, she doesn't suspect a thing," Sleuth says.

Unknown to them, the two hedgehogs have been listening in on the conversation, and they aren't liking what they're heading.

"Those creeps," Eve whispers.

"Yeah. They wanted us to come here so they could lure us into a trap," Sonic whispers.

"And they forced sweet Tommy into being an accomplice in their plan to capture us and brought to Dr. Eggman," Eve whispers.

Then asks, "What are we gonna do? We need to get Tommy, but we can't risk getting ourselves caught."

"Well, when push comes to shove, we'll just have to do this the old fashion way. Speed in, kick some but, and save the day," Sonic says.

"Seems that we always have to do all our missions that way," Eve says.

She then says, "And I'm worried about Tommy. I remember after the race."

Flashback:

Just outside of Mobotropolis, Tommy has won the race against Sonic, much to his surprise. Sally and Eve cheer for Tommy and they give him hugs with smiles on their faces.

Eve happily says, "I knew you can do it. I know my brother's fast, but I know you can finish the race."

"Thanks. All I did was not give up and keep on going," Tommy says.

"Still. It's amazing to see Sonic actually lose in a race for once," Sally says.

"Very funny," Sonic says.

Sonic then takes a deep breath and holds his hand out with a smile, "He says, congratulations Tommy. I… I hope we can be good friends."

Tommy smiles and shakes Sonic's hand, "Me too. I actually had a great time at the race. Think we can do it again another time."

"Sure. how about Eve join us this time," Sonic says.

"Sounds fun. Let's do it," Eve says with glee.

Sonic says, "Hey Tommy, Eve wrote a song and I think as the winner, you should be the first to hear it."

"I… I don't know," Eve says, blushing.

Tommy says, "I like to hear you sing."

"Okay," Eve says, with a calm smile.

With that, young Eve begins to sing.

Young Eve Hedgehog:

Yume no tsubomi hiraku

Mabushii sora wo aogi

Mune ippai hirogaru

Yasashii kaori

Sonic, Sally, Tommy, and the other kids gather around to hear Eve sing. Even some of the grownups begin to hear Eve's singing.

Young Eve Hedgehog:

Kikoeru wa koi no RIZUMU

Kisetsu koe ai ni kite ne

Everyone continues to listen to Eve sing as they smile. Even Eve begins to smile as she sings.

Young Eve Hedgehog:

Daisuki da yo sasayaitara

Sekaichuu ni kikoechau kana

Hazukashikute utsumuiteta

Watashi no te wo tori hashiridas

Flashback Ends:

Eve sighs and says, "That was the last time we saw Tommy before Robotnik invaded the city and took over."

"Yeah. Now our friend is in trouble and we gotta save him before they do something to him. And we better do it fast, looks like we're going to have trouble," Sonic says.

Sonic and Eve look through the air vent to see something is happening.

A.D.A.M says, "Now then. I saw it's time to tap into this little turtle's head to see what sort of information he has. Wouldn't you agree, father?"

"Yes. Snively, activate the controls," Eggman says.

"Yes sir," Snively says, and presses the buttons.

With that, robotic claps comes out of the floor and grabs a hold of Tommy's shell. A.D.A.M then uses his program to bring out two, no four tentacles and heading toward Tommy Turtle. The poor turtle begins to shake in fright to see the tentacles are coming toward and is unable to move. The tentacles are going to tap into Tommy's head and learn about the Freedom Fighters.

Before the tentacle can sneak into Tommy's shell, a blue spin dash flies out of the ventilation shaft and slices the tentacles in half, causing the pieces to fall to the floor. Then landing on the ground in front of Tommy is Sonic.

"I keep those robotic tentacles to myself, A.D.A.M. was it? It's kind of rude," Sonic says.

Eggman growls in anger as Snively surprisingly says, "The Hedgehog!"

"And don't forget about me," Eve's voice calls out.

Eve jumps out of the air vent and brings out her sword. With a slash of the sword, she breaks the clap that has Tommy bounds and he falls to the ground. The turtle sticks his head, arms, and legs from his shell to see his friends.

Eve helps Tommy up, and gets him back on his feet, "There you go. You okay."

"I am. And I'm sorry about this," Tommy worriedly says.

"That's okay, Tommy. We should have known this is Eggman's brand of evil," Sonic says.

Sleuth then smirks, "I knew you two wouldn't stay in your room for very long."

"You annoying hedgehogs!" Eggman says in anger.

"Try to catch it if you can Egg breath," Sonic says.

Sonic grabs Tommy's wrist and he speeds off. Eve speeds right by him.

Eggman screams, "Stop them! They're getting away!"

Snively presses the button on the control panel, "I'll seal off the entry away."

Sonic and Eve hurries to get out of the room. However, they are soon confronted by the Destructix.

"Sorry hedgehogs, but you'll have to deal with us first," Sleuth says.

"Looks like we'll have to deal with them," Eve says.

"You got it sis," Sonic says.

Sonic then spin dashes and slams both Drago and Sleuth to the wall. Lightning Lynx then brings out a kunai and attacks Eve. Eve brings out her sword and repels Lighting's attack. The blade wielders jump in the air and clash their weapons against each other. Tommy becomes scared and ducks back into his shell. Sonic then tries to spin dash Flying Frog, but the frog jumps up in the air.

Flying says, "This is so much fun playing with the hedgehogs."

"We'll teach you how to play," Sonic says as he turns around and spin dashes the frog on his back.

Eve lands on the ground as Predator Hawk pounces her to the ground.

"You are very persistent prey aren't you," Predator says.

Eve smirks, "I'll show you I'm more than persistent."

Eve then spins into a ball and zips right at him. Eve ends up bumping into Tommy while he's in his shell, and the turtle bounces everywhere. He ends up knocking down Eggman and Snively first. After that, Tommy ends up knocking down Lighting, Predator, Flying, Sleuth, and Drago. Sonic and Eve perform a double spin dash and slam Simian into the wall. Once that is done, both of the hedgehogs land on the ground.

"Let's get out of here," Eve says.

"Yeah. But where's Tommy?" Sonic asks.

Suddenly, they hear screaming and turn their heads to see the turtle shell spinning right towards them. Sonic and Eve jump up and dodge the attack. They turn their heads to see Tommy is spinning right towards the exit. The steel door that lowers and ends up trapping Tommy in place. Sonic and Eve hurry towards him as they slide under the steel door and to the other side.

Eve asks, "Tommy? Are you okay?"

"I think he'll be better if we get that steel door off of him," Sonic says.

"Right. I'll take care of the door and you deal with Tommy," Eve says.

Sonic nods his head and grabs Tommy's shell. Eve grabs the bottom of the steel door and begins to slowly lift it up. Once the steel door is up a little, Sonic pulls Tommy out of the way. Eve lets go of the steel door and it closes shut.

"You feeling okay, Tommy?" Sonic asks.

Tommy sticks his head out of the shell, "I'm okay. Thank you."

"No problem. What are friends for," Sonic says.

"We're glad that you're okay. Now just need to get out of here," Eve says.

Sonic and Eve grab Tommy and begin to speed down the hall until they can get out of the building. Unknown to them, A.D.A.M has been spying on them from his secret surveillance.

"Things may have not gone as planned, but I manage to learn a bit about the two hedgehogs, especially Eve the Hedgehog and her sword," A.D.A.M says.

Then evilly says in a soft tone, "I got big plans for her and the Master Emerald sword."

Sometime later, Sonic and Eve return to the city and Tommy is safe and sound. As of now, they're in the hospital to make sure Tommy hasn't received any injuries.

"We're so glad to see you alright Tommy," Sally says.

"Me too. I was afraid I would never be able to get away. I'm sorry about what happened," Tommy says.

"You don't need to worry. It's understandable that Dr. Eggman was using you the entire time," Sally says.

"We're glad to have you back sugar," Bunnie says.

Sally then turns to Sonic and Eve, "I'm worried about this A.D.A.M you were talking about."

"We don't know much about him, but he is definitely one of Eggman's creations and is an A.I like Nicole. We need to be extra careful with that kind of machine Eggman has created," Eve says.

"I agree. Even as a computer, A.D.A.M sees like bad news," Sonic says.

Nicole says from the speaker, "I'll be sure to put up special security to keep A.D.A.M out of our system. I don't want him or Eggman sneaking into my program."

"Good idea Nicole," Sally says.

Then says, "And great job on your mission guys."

"No problem Sal," Sonic says.

"We always do our best, right Sonic?" Eve says.

"You said it sis," Sonic says.

"Then the two siblings fist bump each other's hands with smiles on their faces.

Yume no Tsubomi: Shugo Chara