CHAPTER NINE
============
The unlikely band made their way through the halls of the fortress, when suddenly a piercing whine echoed through them.
Fang covered his ears, "That has to be the most annoying sound I've ever heard..."
"C'mon," Cream pulled one of his hands off, "It came from this way!" They raced down the hallway towards it.
***
Meanwhile, outside Metal Sonic landed just outside the fortress. He couldn't find the rabbit, Fang, or the brats anywhere. He almost gave up when he spotted Scratch sprawled out on the ground, trying to get his senses back.
Metal blasted over and laughed, "Ha! You two are so pathetic - I bet those babies beat you up, huh?"
Scratch grumbled, "I'd like to see you take them on, if you think you're so cool!"
"Yeah, I do, and if you would point me in the right direction, I'll do it too."
Grounder finally managed to crawl out of the deep hole, "They got into the fortress and-"
That was all the information he needed and before Grounder could finish his sentence, Metal took off and crashed through the fortress doors. "They couldn't have gotten too far," he thought, "This will be too easy."
***
In the adjoining room, Amy was bound to a chair. She couldn't move at all, and biting her way out was out of the question, for she also was gagged with a white handkerchief. Eggman smiled devilishly and aimed his ray gun at Amy. He fired, but Amy did not change into a whining brat like he thought she would.
Eggman whined, "What? Hey, this gun doesn't work on women! Ah well, I will find out something else to do to you!" And he winked.
***
Cream peered around the corner of the hallway. She hadn't seen any security cameras in the fortress. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't any, she thought. Baby Tails yawned and began to squirm around, so Cream set him down. He started playing with baby Sonic and Knuckles.
Fang listened, "Hey, that noise finally stopped."
A swift wind blew by, making Cream and Fang jump in fright.
"What on Mobius was that?!" Fang whirled around.
Cream noticed she felt lighter somehow. She quickly checked her pocket - Cheese's chao egg was gone! She glanced down to see if she had dropped it, "Oh no! The boys are gone!" There was no trace of Cheese or the three tiny toddlers.
"Looking for something?" a voice snickered.
"No!" Cream gasped as she turned to see Metal Sonic hovering not too far away. In one metallic claw he held Sonic, Tails and Knuckles by the scruffs of their necks, and in the other he held the chao egg that contained Cheese.
"That wasn't so hard, and here I thought you brats would put up more of a fight!" he laughed, putting his face close up to Sonic's. Sonic glared, he had had just about enough of his metal counterpart.
"Big Bully!" the little hedgehog pouted as he kicked his foot up, hitting Metal in the chin. Metal, who didn't see the kick coming, dropped the toddlers and the egg in his confusion. Thankfully, Cheese's egg landed in Tails lap. Knuckles and Tails quickly got to their feet and ran back over to Cream, but Sonic had landed harder than the others. As the cobalt hedgehog was picking himself up, Metal had recovered and swifty grabbed the child.
"I will waste no more time with you!" Metal Sonic growled, as he took off, carrying Sonic with him.
***
Amy was staring really hard at the ropes that bound her body to the quaint wooden chair. She tried to rock herself to fall down so she could slip away; but the chair fell onto its back, and Amy couldn't do anything to get up. Metal Sonic barged in the room and tossed Sonic right at Amy's Face.
Sonic, being the curious little toddler he was, immediately looked at Amy's face and shouted "Lookie!" Shriek-laughing loudly, he grabbed at Amy's face and pulled it into several directions, making funny expressions and laughing all the more.
Amy, on the other hand, tried to yell at Sonic and shake him off, but only succeeded in a loud "MRRFLLMRRRFRFM!" and tipping herself further.
Sonic then grabbed at the white gag and pulled it back, still laughing. Amy's eyes widened in horror as the toddler released the gag and snapped it back.
Eggman burst through the door after hearing this commotion, "What's going on in here?" he placed the Juvenilator ray gun that he was working on into his pocket.
He then spotted the little hedgehog joyfully playing with Amy's face, "You!" Eggman leapt at baby Sonic, but Sonic darted away, making Eggman fall flat on his face.
Metal Sonic rushed over and began to pull him up by his shoulders. Eggman swatted at him, "Don't touch me! Capture that brat!"
"Right away!" Metal Sonic saluted and dropped Eggman, who smacked into the floor once more. Metal then began to chase the speedy tot around the room.
They ran up the wall, across the ceiling and around and under just about everything in the room, sending papers, chairs and anything that wasn't bolted down flying up into the air.
Amy shook her head fiercely and finally succeeded in working the gag off. "Sonic!" she screamed as she watched the toddler race around the room. Sonic, who was laughing and having the time of his life in what he thought was a game of tag with Metal Sonic, stopped at the sound of his name and looked at Amy. This gave Metal a chance to grab the hedgehog.
"Got ya, you little brat!" He laughed as he held up Sonic. The hedgehog squirmed and kicked in Metal's grasp but to no avail. Eggman chuckled and walked over to Metal Sonic. The evil doctor placed a finger under little Sonic's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes.
"Well, Well! Seems I have the upper hand for once, Sonic!" Eggman grinned. The tiny hedgehog, though extremely frightened, did not let it show. Instead he glared back and opened his mouth wide, snapping his sharp canines down hard on Eggman's finger. The villain howled in pain as he tried to pull his finger away, but Sonic kept his jaws locked.
Metal Sonic pulled out a crowbar and tried to pry open the baby's jaws as Eggman's finger turned bright purple. He squealed, "GET HIM OFF!"
"I'm tryin'!" Metal replied. He dropped the crowbar as a shuriken lodged into his skull. He short-circuited and fell to the ground.
Amy had been watching this unfold and suddenly saw two people rush into the room, it was Cream carrying baby Tails and Knuckles, and... Oh no! Fang was right behind her! "Cream look out!"
Cream spotted her, "It's alright Aimes, he's on our side now!" She then turned to him, "Though you're not acting like it! You could've hit Sonic... And where did you get that... thing!"
"From your little friend," Nack said as he pulled another shuriken out of his pocket, "You worry too much."
Eggman growled and grabbed baby Sonic around his neck. Sonic finally let go of his finger after chomping down for so long, looking quite exhausted.
Eggman held the infant hedgehog out towards Cream and Fang, "If you know what's good for your two friends, you will surrender to me..."
Amy and Cream's eyes grew wide with fear as they watched their tiny friend struggle for air. "Let him go! He can't breathe!" Cream pleaded. Eggman grinned but refused to loosen his grip around the child's throat. It seemed the situation was hopeless. Not even Fang knew what to do now. Tears welled up in Sonic's eyes as he gasped for air. Tails saw the frightened look in his best friend's eyes. But that's not all he saw. The Juvenilator ray gun had fallen from Eggman's pocket during the struggle to get Sonic off his finger!
"Knuckles," Tails whispered and he tugged on the echidna's glove. He pointed to the gun and Knuckles fallowed the kit's gaze. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together. Knuckles ran as fast as he could and slid right between Eggman's legs. As he slid he grabbed the Juvenilator.
"What the?!" Eggman said in confusion as he caught a glimpse of baby Knuckles slide under him. While he was distracted Tails flew past, snatching Sonic out of the evil doctor's grasp.
Knuckles kept his pace up as he glanced behind him to make sure Tails had gotten Sonic away from Eggman. At that moment Tails carrying Sonic flew past Knuckles, surprising the little echidna. This was why he failed to notice the short-circuited Metal Sonic in front of him. As Knuckles tripped over the fallen robot, he dropped the gun. In his fall he landed on it, pressing a particularly bright red button as he did so. The gun went off….in the direction of Sonic and Tails!
"NOOO!" Eggman cried.
A bright ray of yellow light zapped the two teeny toddlers. They glowed brightly, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light immediately snuffed out and the babies fell to the floor, seemingly unscathed.
Eggman scrambled past the two burnt babies and pried the Juvenilator from under baby Knuckles, "Well! What do you know! It didn't work!" he leaped for joy. He then growled at Knuckles, "Thought you could outsmart me, did you?" He picked up Knuckles by his foot, trying to decide the best way to punish the tiny troublemaker.
Unbeknownst to Eggman, the ray had indeed worked, as Sonic and Tails began glowing again and almost instantly grew up to their normal age. Amy, Fang and Cream watched this in amazement and were totally stupified.
Sonic saw Eggman holding Knuckles and quickly leapt to his feet. He walked towards Eggman. Sonic frowned. Not only was that bully teasing one of his closest buds (something only he should do), Knux was just a baby! "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Eggbelly?"
Eggman froze. No! It couldn't be!
============
The unlikely band made their way through the halls of the fortress, when suddenly a piercing whine echoed through them.
Fang covered his ears, "That has to be the most annoying sound I've ever heard..."
"C'mon," Cream pulled one of his hands off, "It came from this way!" They raced down the hallway towards it.
***
Meanwhile, outside Metal Sonic landed just outside the fortress. He couldn't find the rabbit, Fang, or the brats anywhere. He almost gave up when he spotted Scratch sprawled out on the ground, trying to get his senses back.
Metal blasted over and laughed, "Ha! You two are so pathetic - I bet those babies beat you up, huh?"
Scratch grumbled, "I'd like to see you take them on, if you think you're so cool!"
"Yeah, I do, and if you would point me in the right direction, I'll do it too."
Grounder finally managed to crawl out of the deep hole, "They got into the fortress and-"
That was all the information he needed and before Grounder could finish his sentence, Metal took off and crashed through the fortress doors. "They couldn't have gotten too far," he thought, "This will be too easy."
***
In the adjoining room, Amy was bound to a chair. She couldn't move at all, and biting her way out was out of the question, for she also was gagged with a white handkerchief. Eggman smiled devilishly and aimed his ray gun at Amy. He fired, but Amy did not change into a whining brat like he thought she would.
Eggman whined, "What? Hey, this gun doesn't work on women! Ah well, I will find out something else to do to you!" And he winked.
***
Cream peered around the corner of the hallway. She hadn't seen any security cameras in the fortress. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't any, she thought. Baby Tails yawned and began to squirm around, so Cream set him down. He started playing with baby Sonic and Knuckles.
Fang listened, "Hey, that noise finally stopped."
A swift wind blew by, making Cream and Fang jump in fright.
"What on Mobius was that?!" Fang whirled around.
Cream noticed she felt lighter somehow. She quickly checked her pocket - Cheese's chao egg was gone! She glanced down to see if she had dropped it, "Oh no! The boys are gone!" There was no trace of Cheese or the three tiny toddlers.
"Looking for something?" a voice snickered.
"No!" Cream gasped as she turned to see Metal Sonic hovering not too far away. In one metallic claw he held Sonic, Tails and Knuckles by the scruffs of their necks, and in the other he held the chao egg that contained Cheese.
"That wasn't so hard, and here I thought you brats would put up more of a fight!" he laughed, putting his face close up to Sonic's. Sonic glared, he had had just about enough of his metal counterpart.
"Big Bully!" the little hedgehog pouted as he kicked his foot up, hitting Metal in the chin. Metal, who didn't see the kick coming, dropped the toddlers and the egg in his confusion. Thankfully, Cheese's egg landed in Tails lap. Knuckles and Tails quickly got to their feet and ran back over to Cream, but Sonic had landed harder than the others. As the cobalt hedgehog was picking himself up, Metal had recovered and swifty grabbed the child.
"I will waste no more time with you!" Metal Sonic growled, as he took off, carrying Sonic with him.
***
Amy was staring really hard at the ropes that bound her body to the quaint wooden chair. She tried to rock herself to fall down so she could slip away; but the chair fell onto its back, and Amy couldn't do anything to get up. Metal Sonic barged in the room and tossed Sonic right at Amy's Face.
Sonic, being the curious little toddler he was, immediately looked at Amy's face and shouted "Lookie!" Shriek-laughing loudly, he grabbed at Amy's face and pulled it into several directions, making funny expressions and laughing all the more.
Amy, on the other hand, tried to yell at Sonic and shake him off, but only succeeded in a loud "MRRFLLMRRRFRFM!" and tipping herself further.
Sonic then grabbed at the white gag and pulled it back, still laughing. Amy's eyes widened in horror as the toddler released the gag and snapped it back.
Eggman burst through the door after hearing this commotion, "What's going on in here?" he placed the Juvenilator ray gun that he was working on into his pocket.
He then spotted the little hedgehog joyfully playing with Amy's face, "You!" Eggman leapt at baby Sonic, but Sonic darted away, making Eggman fall flat on his face.
Metal Sonic rushed over and began to pull him up by his shoulders. Eggman swatted at him, "Don't touch me! Capture that brat!"
"Right away!" Metal Sonic saluted and dropped Eggman, who smacked into the floor once more. Metal then began to chase the speedy tot around the room.
They ran up the wall, across the ceiling and around and under just about everything in the room, sending papers, chairs and anything that wasn't bolted down flying up into the air.
Amy shook her head fiercely and finally succeeded in working the gag off. "Sonic!" she screamed as she watched the toddler race around the room. Sonic, who was laughing and having the time of his life in what he thought was a game of tag with Metal Sonic, stopped at the sound of his name and looked at Amy. This gave Metal a chance to grab the hedgehog.
"Got ya, you little brat!" He laughed as he held up Sonic. The hedgehog squirmed and kicked in Metal's grasp but to no avail. Eggman chuckled and walked over to Metal Sonic. The evil doctor placed a finger under little Sonic's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes.
"Well, Well! Seems I have the upper hand for once, Sonic!" Eggman grinned. The tiny hedgehog, though extremely frightened, did not let it show. Instead he glared back and opened his mouth wide, snapping his sharp canines down hard on Eggman's finger. The villain howled in pain as he tried to pull his finger away, but Sonic kept his jaws locked.
Metal Sonic pulled out a crowbar and tried to pry open the baby's jaws as Eggman's finger turned bright purple. He squealed, "GET HIM OFF!"
"I'm tryin'!" Metal replied. He dropped the crowbar as a shuriken lodged into his skull. He short-circuited and fell to the ground.
Amy had been watching this unfold and suddenly saw two people rush into the room, it was Cream carrying baby Tails and Knuckles, and... Oh no! Fang was right behind her! "Cream look out!"
Cream spotted her, "It's alright Aimes, he's on our side now!" She then turned to him, "Though you're not acting like it! You could've hit Sonic... And where did you get that... thing!"
"From your little friend," Nack said as he pulled another shuriken out of his pocket, "You worry too much."
Eggman growled and grabbed baby Sonic around his neck. Sonic finally let go of his finger after chomping down for so long, looking quite exhausted.
Eggman held the infant hedgehog out towards Cream and Fang, "If you know what's good for your two friends, you will surrender to me..."
Amy and Cream's eyes grew wide with fear as they watched their tiny friend struggle for air. "Let him go! He can't breathe!" Cream pleaded. Eggman grinned but refused to loosen his grip around the child's throat. It seemed the situation was hopeless. Not even Fang knew what to do now. Tears welled up in Sonic's eyes as he gasped for air. Tails saw the frightened look in his best friend's eyes. But that's not all he saw. The Juvenilator ray gun had fallen from Eggman's pocket during the struggle to get Sonic off his finger!
"Knuckles," Tails whispered and he tugged on the echidna's glove. He pointed to the gun and Knuckles fallowed the kit's gaze. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together. Knuckles ran as fast as he could and slid right between Eggman's legs. As he slid he grabbed the Juvenilator.
"What the?!" Eggman said in confusion as he caught a glimpse of baby Knuckles slide under him. While he was distracted Tails flew past, snatching Sonic out of the evil doctor's grasp.
Knuckles kept his pace up as he glanced behind him to make sure Tails had gotten Sonic away from Eggman. At that moment Tails carrying Sonic flew past Knuckles, surprising the little echidna. This was why he failed to notice the short-circuited Metal Sonic in front of him. As Knuckles tripped over the fallen robot, he dropped the gun. In his fall he landed on it, pressing a particularly bright red button as he did so. The gun went off….in the direction of Sonic and Tails!
"NOOO!" Eggman cried.
A bright ray of yellow light zapped the two teeny toddlers. They glowed brightly, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light immediately snuffed out and the babies fell to the floor, seemingly unscathed.
Eggman scrambled past the two burnt babies and pried the Juvenilator from under baby Knuckles, "Well! What do you know! It didn't work!" he leaped for joy. He then growled at Knuckles, "Thought you could outsmart me, did you?" He picked up Knuckles by his foot, trying to decide the best way to punish the tiny troublemaker.
Unbeknownst to Eggman, the ray had indeed worked, as Sonic and Tails began glowing again and almost instantly grew up to their normal age. Amy, Fang and Cream watched this in amazement and were totally stupified.
Sonic saw Eggman holding Knuckles and quickly leapt to his feet. He walked towards Eggman. Sonic frowned. Not only was that bully teasing one of his closest buds (something only he should do), Knux was just a baby! "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Eggbelly?"
Eggman froze. No! It couldn't be!