Matri90: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it :D

Kj: Yep; Lara-Le and Daimeri are one and the same ;) More on that in later chapters though :P

Maverick87: (weg) Thanks; I was hoping to catch at least one person out with the Daimeri thing :D

Bam: Yep, Lara-Le's evil alright :P As for the rest...maybe, maybe not ;)

Riven K. Daniel: I'm sure she will ;) Shadow and Rouge...maybe in the sequel, I'm not sure yet...

Shadow-spawn180: And you were right :P As to the real Knuckles...you will find out about that, promise ;)

Asher Tye: Thanks :) And all shall be revealed in time :P

FriedBrickWall: (Tails: Maybe I will...) And yes, I think a PikoPiko would be just the thing for Raker (weg) (Raker: What? The reviewer asked me a question! What am I supposed to do; make like I'm a deaf-mute?) That would be nice, Raker, yes...As to the black thing, if you're talking about the void, then yes it is still there (closer than you may think) and will be back very, very soon (the sequel to Sins deals almost completely with the void, what it is and where it came from ;))

Momi-Chan: (blushes) Thanks :D I do my best :)

My Memoirs by Me

Bait never showed up in the park. Either he didn't want to come or he couldn't.

I don't mind admitting that I'm worried about that kid. No, scared stiff might be more accurate, but the hard part is that I'm not scared for him...at least, not much. I'm scared at the thought that I might well have to go back into Robotnik's prison to find him.

I have a nasty suspicion that Raker knows where he is, but to get to Raker I'm going to have to get to someone who knows him at least fairly well.

--Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic paused for breath, something he rarely did, but then it was equally rare for him to run over two hundred miles at full speed without a rest.

Sleeping Egg Zone. He hadn't been here for years, and in the normal scheme of things still wouldn't have been, but something Raker had told him a while back had stuck in his memory. There was only one person who knew Raker – or rather, only one person who Sonic could get to who knew Raker – and apparently that person was here in Sleeping Egg Zone, in this very bakery.

Sonic took a long, deep breath, then stepped inside. As the bell above the door tinkled loudly, two identical civet cubs came forward and chorused, "Welcome to the bakery, can we..." Their voices tailed off as they caught sight of Sonic and they stared at him with awed expressions. Here was a living legend, right in their little bakery. Manners forgotten, they raced forward, then came to a confused stop in front of the hedgehog, not sure how to proceed.

Grinning, Sonic dropped to one knee and reached out to ruffle the fur between two identical pairs of ears. "Hey kids. I'm looking for the guy who owns this bakery. You know where I can find him?"

The twins nodded in perfect unison, then the male said, "We know something else too, Sonic!"

"Yeah!" The female looked around, then beckoned Sonic closer. "We know how you can escape Robotnik next time you're fighting him!"

Sonic, glad of the diversion, looked over his shoulder as though afraid they might be overheard, then lowered his tone to one of hushed anticipation. "Yeah? How?"

The twins exchanged looks, then the male cupped his hands over his mouth and whispered in Sonic's ear, "Hide somewhere he can't fit."

"Ohhh." Sonic nodded wisely, looking serious and for all the world like he'd just been let in on a huge secret. "Hide somewhere he can't fit. Of course; so simple when you think about it. Thanks; I'll try that next time Robotnik and I go head to head." He winked.

"Are you..." The male broke off, cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you really Sonic the hedgehog?"

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "I was this morning. Lemme double-check." He looked around at himself, under his arm. "Let's see...blue fur...blades sticking out my back...a pair of way cool sneakers..." He glanced back at the twins. "Yep, I'm Sonic, and I really need to talk to whoever owns this place."

"Sonic?" The speaker's voice was tempered with a wariness that Sonic wasn't used to hearing, although he wasn't surprised to hear it from this guy. Straightening, smiling now, he turned to face him.

"Hello Caud," he said pleasantly. "It's been a long time."

"Nearly five years."

The twins looked at each other, then at Caud.

"Da-ad!" That was the male, accusingly. "You never told us you were friends with Sonic the hedgehog!"

Caud hesitated. The simple reason for this omission on his part had been because he and Sonic hadn't been friends; when they'd met in Emerald Hill Zone, Caud had been the leader of the gang that bullied Tails almost continuously.

"We weren't the best of friends," he said, a little edgily. "More like...well..."

"Acquaintances," Sonic supplied diplomatically. "I was just passing through at the time; your dad wanted to make friends but I was too caught up fighting Robotnik."

Seeing the hedgehog apparently hadn't come to dig up the past, Caud relaxed. "Exactly. What can I get you?"

"Information, to begin with. Then maybe something to eat; I'm ravenous."

Caud hesitated again, then stepped back. "C'mon through." He took an iced pella tart off the rack and handed it to Sonic. "Here."

"Thanks." Sonic took it and bit into it as he followed the civet into the back room. "Oh. Oh man, thif if good. Thif if really good." He swallowed. "I gotta get the recipe."

"Why?" Caud asked rhetorically. "So you can start competing with me?"

Sonic laughed. "Still thinking like a gang leader, aren't you? I'm not exactly baker material and to be honest, I wouldn't have said you were either."

Caud unbent a little. "Yeah…well, it's something of a family secret. My wife Marla was the one who came up with it."

"Yeah?" Interested now, Sonic raised an eye ridge. "Where is she?"

"Robotnik killed her when he attacked this Zone three years ago."

Sonic stared, jaw hanging open before he realised that his mouth was still full of half-masticated pella tart and shut it with an embarrassed snap, swallowing before saying, "Oh man, I'm sorry."

Caud looked away. "Yeah. You know, it's funny but at the time, I thought you'd let it happen deliberately as a kind of punishment for everything I did to Tails. Guess even someone as fast as you are can still be too late, huh?"

Sonic shook his head. "I didn't even know you were here until Raker told me. I thought you were still in Emerald Hill Zone."

Caud winced slightly. "Look, about everything that happened back there—"

"I don't want to talk about that, Caud."

"No, but I do. Whatever happened, whatever we said to Tails, we never laid a finger on him, not really."

Sonic snorted. "You call shoving him face first into the sand never laying a finger on him?"

Caud at least had the grace not to meet Sonic's eyes. "Well…almost never. We never deliberately hurt him."

Oddly enough, Sonic believed him. Even when he and Caud had been at loggerheads during the hedgehog's stay in Emerald Hill Zone, the civet had never struck him as sadistic, not in the same way Raker did.

"I didn't come to talk about Tails," he said again. "I want to talk to you about Raker."

"Raker?" Caud stared at Sonic, clearly astonished. "What's he to you?"

"He sold Tails as a slave, for starters. Apparently he's been doing quite a good trade with a slaver ring in Scrap Brain Zone."

"Oh man." Caud shook his head slowly. "That's something he got into off his own back, Sonic; when I was leader of that gang, we were strictly small-time."

"I know, and I got Tails out. He's safe and recovering with a friend of mine now, but Raker has someone else with him that I'm worried about."

"Who?"

"Bait." Sonic grimaced as he said the name; he'd never liked it, but about the only person who knew Bait's real name was most likely Raker, and chances were good he wasn't going to tell.

"Raker's little brother?"

"How many Baits do you know?" Sonic said rhetorically.

Caud exhaled slowly. "Right…then what do you want from me, Sonic? Because I haven't heard from Raker since Marla and I left Emerald Hill Zone."

Sonic shrugged. "Anything, I guess. Anything that could help me understand and deal with Raker. Bait almost never talks about his life before he met me."

Caud stared. "And just how did he meet you, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged. "Padded after me and Knux after we left Emerald Hill Zone and offered to come and lead us to Tails."

"Knux?" Caud echoed. "Another of your little tagalongs, Sonic?"

A wicked gleam appeared in the hedgehog's eye. "Well…you could say that." Just not to his face, that's all. "Anyway, Bait led us to Tails – and Raker pretty much destroyed an entire Zone trying to get his brother back, literally – and then Raker kidnapped him." Sonic shook his head, frowning slightly. "I know Raker can't stand Bait, so why does he want him back so badly?"

"Because he can pound on him whenever he feels like it," Caud answered bluntly. "He was the same when I knew him as well, although he became more and more dangerous after his father was murdered."

"His father?" Sonic took another bite of the hitherto forgotten pella tart. "And Bait's father?"

"Well, there was always some debate on that point, Sonic, but for the sake of argument, yes. Didn't Bait even tell you this much?"

Sonic shook his head. "No, he only said his father died." He snorted. "I'm guessing there's no point my asking if Raker could have protected him."

"It was Raker who murdered him."

Sonic's jaw dropped. "What? But he'd only have been about eleven!"

"Eleven year olds can do impressive things, Sonic. You of all people should know that."

Sonic frowned. "Does Bait know? That it was Raker, I mean?"

"Oh yeah," Caud said with almost frightening composure. "Raker was pissed off about something and taking it all out on Bait when their father moved in to break it up. He wasn't such a bad guy, even on drugs." He shook his head. "Raker felt he'd been deeply insulted by his father and so he went through to the kitchen, picked up the biggest knife he could find and went back. He slashed his father's throat almost hard enough to decapitate him, then kept carving him up like a piece of meat. I understand they had to ID him on dental records in the end. Bait was still in the room when Raker did all this and the kid just...went inside himself. He curled up in a corner and just sat there, staring into space. His mother killed herself two days later. Nobody except possibly Raker knows the real reason why, and if Raker does know then he's not saying."

"Did Raker have anything to do with his mother's death?"

Caud shrugged. "If he did, it was at second hand. He was in the jail when it happened and since there were no witnesses to his father's murder, they let him go the next day."

"No witnesses? What about Bait?"

"The word of a three year old wouldn't hold much water with a court even if they'd been able to persuade him to testify. Bait didn't move from that spot or that position for three days – he was still spattered with his father's blood when Raker came back – and he only moved then because Raker threatened him with the same knife he used to kill their father. As far as I know, Bait didn't say a word for six months after the incident and I'd lay money that he only spoke at the end of that time because Raker kicked him into it."

"Why'd Raker kill him in the first place though?"

"His father insulted him. At least, that's how he saw it."

Sonic rubbed his forehead, feeling slightly dazed. He'd wanted information, but this was rapidly heading towards the heading of a little too much information.

"Didn't something happen? Something to set him off?"

"Nothing. He just flipped."

"People don't just flip. Were there any problems with the parents?"

Caud shook his head. "Not enough to turn him into a psycho. Besides, look at Bait. He had the same parents as Raker, a far more brutal and sadistic upbringing, but he's not going around killing people. Raker was born with a twisted nature."

"Twisted? It's a damn helix! Gang or no gang, how the hell you could have invited someone like that to join you—"

Caud shook his head again, cutting him off. "I never did, Sonic, you have to believe me. Raker came to me. To be honest I was too scared to refuse; if he did that to his own father, what the hell would he do to me?"

"Did you know Bait at all?"

"I...saw him a couple of times, but that's all. We were a gang, Sonic; we didn't want little kids cramping our style."

Something in the way he said it caused Sonic's eyes to narrow slightly. "What do you mean, you saw him?"

Caud flinched as though Sonic had pinched him, then shook his head. "I won't say, Sonic."

Sonic stared. "He didn't...no, even Raker wouldn't..."

"Rape?" Caud suggested very quietly. "No; for all his sadistic tendencies, he's never done anything like that, or even anything that comes remotely close."

"Then what—"

"That's something Bait should tell you himself, if he wants you to know," Caud interrupted. Half relieved, half still curious, Sonic let the subject go.

"You think Raker'd ever kill him?" he asked.

"Who, Bait?" Caud considered, then shook his head. "Not deliberately. He might give him a kicking and get carried away – to be honest, I think that's how Bait's eventually going to die – but I don't think he considers Bait important enough or irritating enough to deserve murder, not anymore."

Sonic stared. "What do you mean, not anymore?"

Caud glanced away. "Raker turned up late one day, soaking wet and covered in scratches. He just looked at us and said 'Sorry I'm late, I've been giving my kid brother a bath'. He'd forgotten something in his place, so I went back to get it. When I got there I found Bait lying curled up on his side next to the bath, which was almost completely full. The kid was wet and shaking all over – I don't think he saw me, to be honest – and there were definite signs of a struggle, plus the fact he'd clearly vomited up a hell of a lot of water at some point."

Sonic frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think Raker tried to drown him in the bathtub," Caud said bluntly. "Either Bait got the better of him or – more likely – Raker decided that it was just too much hassle, or something distracted him."

Sonic stared into space, sick to the heart.

"Jeez." He'd known Bait didn't like baths, but had simply chalked that up to a kid thing; Tails was much the same way. It had never occurred to him that there might have been a more sinister reason for the jackal's aversion. "But he doesn't mind swimming in rivers or lakes."

"No. That's probably because Raker never tried to drown him in rivers or lakes," Caud said, with what Sonic felt was exaggerated patience.

For a long moment Sonic stared into space, then abruptly he spun. "I've got to find him, Caud. If Raker's hurt him—"

"He will have done, and badly if I know anything about Raker," Caud said bluntly. "He's not too fond of runaways, especially ones like Bait."

Sonic opened his mouth for a caustic retort, but at that moment there was a scream from the main bakery and he raced out without a second thought to come face to face with a robot. Before even Sonic had a chance to react, it dropped a package at his feet, then turned and accelerated through the door.

"You scared it away." That was one of the twins, looking at Sonic with an awed expression.

"Robots don't get scared," the hedgehog said absently, frowning as he picked up the package. Ripping it open, Sonic tipped it up and Bait's broken watch fell into his hand.

For a long minute, Sonic just stared at it. He knew Bait loved that watch (why, Sonic had no idea) even refusing to take it off when he went to bed. What had happened?

Reaching in, he pulled out the piece of paper and read it, a frown rapidly deepening on his face as he took in the contents, then looked up into the sky.

Oh Bait...what've you got yourself into this time, kiddo?

Reading the note, it was obvious that whatever it was, the young jackal hadn't gone into it willingly. Sonic couldn't for the life of him think what Robotnik would want with Bait – if the doctor was even aware of the jackal's existence – which left only one possibility.

Raker, Sonic thought grimly, screwing up the note tightly in one hand.

"That low-down, underhanded jerkal!" He spat the words, not knowing if Raker was somehow watching but not caring either, just wanting to siphon off some of the sick fury inside him. "When I get my hands on you, Raker..." Sonic's imagination, usually obligingly vivid, let him down at this point; he literally couldn't think of anything terrible enough to do to the jackal, at least, nothing legal.

Sonic glanced in the direction the messenger bot had gone, then raced after it and attacked it until there was nothing left but shattered metal. The presence of robots told Sonic that Robotnik had at least had a hand in this, and that meant he had to find a way of getting to the doctor's latest fortress.

He shook his head. Tails still had the Tornado in the Mushroom Hill Zone, which meant that whatever he decided to do, he had to find a way up to Angel Island, and fast.

---

Robotnik sat in his security room, surrounded on all sides by hundreds of CCTV screens. This was his favourite room in the whole of the Egg Carrier; the only place where he could see every part of what his genius had created. He liked to come here when he needed a place to unwind and to think.

So far, however, he hadn't managed to do either, and this was largely Raker's fault. As far as Robotnik was concerned, he had no interest in Bait whatsoever – not in hurting him or helping him – but he did have rather a personal interest in the operation in that he knew Sonic wouldn't like the idea of Bait being dead when he arrived…and much as he hated to admit it, Robotnik didn't like the idea of Sonic not liking the idea of something.

It was because of this that he had made up his mind that if Sonic came for Bait, he would break all his own rules by allowing the hedgehog to take the young jackal and leave unmolested on the condition that he took Raker with him. Or killed him; Robotnik wasn't picky.

He had no doubt that Sonic would come, despite Raker's sneering opinions to the contrary. If the hedgehog risked life and limb to rescue complete strangers, he was hardly likely to leave Bait behind, especially since he knew the jackal was innocent.

The hard part was going to be convincing Raker – who saw anything involving the word 'Bait' as interference and interference as a personal insult – to lay off. Frankly, short of roboticising or imprisoning him (both of which were admittedly holding a rapidly growing appeal) Robotnik had no idea how to go about accomplishing such a miracle, and he didn't much like the feeling.

With a sigh, he glanced up at the camera displaying Bait's prison. It actually wasn't in the jail – Raker had put him in the coldest room on the ship to add to his brother's sufferings – and Robotnik had to admit that this wasn't a bad idea. At the very least it would throw Sonic off the trail. Granted that when you were dealing with Sonic the longest you could hope to throw him off was about two seconds, but the principle was still sound.

He sighed again, seeing Raker move into the camera's image. He'd turned the sound off for that particular room; he had no desire to listen to Raker's immature taunting. Someone really would have to teach that jackal some restraint…

Down in the room, Raker circled Bait slowly, vulture-style.

"Not so big now, are you? Not now you don't have your precious hedgehog friend to guard you."

"I will." Bait's voice was hoarse – he hadn't had anything to drink for two days – but clear. "Sonic's gonna come. Sonic's gonna come an' if you don't lemme go, Raker—"

"So not gonna happen. Get this through that thick retarded skull of yours, Bait; Sonic is not coming for you. Nobody is."

"Has he..." Bait swallowed in a dry throat. "Has he read the letter yet?"

"Of course," Raker said carelessly. "And Robotnik has had another good idea; he suggested we stop by Angel Island and tell Knuckles how you very kindly led us there."

"I never bin to Angel Island in my life!"

"No, but somehow I doubt that will matter very much." Raker chuckled. "The echidna race has never been famous for their ability to stop and think things through. No, all Knuckles is going to think is that you've sold us out. Even if Sonic does come, it'll already be too late; Knuckles will have finished you. Me and Robotnik will be out of his way, of course, but you'll be there, ready and waiting."

"An' in a cage." Bait's limbs felt like they were permanently cramped; he'd been forced to stay curled up in the same position ever since waking up in the cage in question.

"Oh, of course," Raker agreed. "We'll just say we decided to gift wrap you for him."

Bait winced. He was certain that his actions had caused Knuckles to feel, if not openly hostile, then at least unfriendly towards him. And yet...Knuckles hadn't actually been cruel to him. There had even been occasional moments when the echidna had helped him – uppermost in Bait's mind was the time when he'd eaten his first chilli dog and it had ignited his mouth; Knuckles had seemed to understand then, had at least helped him to hide his distaste from Sonic – although these had been few and far between.

Still, Bait thought that even Knuckles wouldn't let him be treated this way, not if he could do anything to stop it.

"What'd Sonic say when he got the letter?"

"Hmm." Raker pretended to consider, then smiled. "I suppose you do have a right to know. Robotnik managed to tap into the CCTV outside the shop where he got it."

He pulled out a remote (and the readiness of the gesture told Bait that Raker had been planning to do this all along) then pushed a button.

A projection of Sonic outside a small bakery appeared on one wall. As Bait watched, the messenger robot arrived, dropped off its package and then sped away. Reaching down, Sonic picked up the package, opened it. He frowned as he caught sight of the broken watch, then pulled out the note and his frown deepened until it was almost a scowl. Abruptly, he screwed it up one handed, his expression darker than Bait had ever seen it.

"That low-down, underhanded jerkal!" The words were slightly tinny, but they were clear enough. "When I get my hands on you—"

The image abruptly cut, leaving smooth metal walls in its place and Raker glanced down at Bait with a smile, clicking his tongue at the younger jackal's stricken expression.

"Poor little Bait. Sonic didn't seem to be very happy with you, did he? You should thank me; he'll never get to you all the time you're here."

"What else'd he say?" Bait said. Raker heard the beaten tone in his brother's voice, the tone of utter misery and defeat and revelled in it.

"You really want to have him insult you some more?" he drawled. "He's not very polite, your handler, is he?"

"No," Bait whispered, although it wasn't clear whether he was in agreement with Raker or denial of the situation.

"What did you say?" Raker prompted.

"I said no. He's not." Bait closed his eyes. Sonic had been his last realistic hope, and now the hedgehog wanted nothing more to do with him.

A kick, light for Raker but still hard enough to hurt, caused Bait to jerk convulsively and open his eyes. He was tired, in more pain than he'd ever been before, and just wanted to rest.

"You wanna hurt me, you're gonna have to get me out," he mumbled, pain and exhaustion slurring his words.

Raker appeared shocked. "Hurt you? Me? What on Mobius put that idea into your head, Bait?" A mocking gleam appeared in his eyes as he lifted what looked like a blowtorch from the side and lit it, turning the flame this way and that. "I just want to play."

Bait closed his eyes again and this time it took two separate kicks from Raker to make him open them again.

"Wanna sleep," he mumbled. "Leemelone."

"Oh, but that would be rude," Raker said, smiling now. "And trust me on this one, Bait; you really, really do not want to be rude to me."

"Whassitmatter? You're gon' kill me anyway."

"No I'm not," Raker answered candidly. "Not unless you really push your luck. But I am going to teach you what it means to be part of a family."

Bait struggled uselessly against the cage. "Raker, please—"

"Shut up!" No longer smiling, Raker kicked hard at Bait's cracked rib and the younger jackal shut up obediently. Raker's sudden swings from friendliness to pure rage were one of the things Bait found the most terrifying about him.

"I'd get comfortable if I were you," Raker told him with heavy irony, smiling again as the flame from the torch lit his features from underneath. "This is probably going to take a very, very long time."

Okay, 'nother chapter to add to the finished pile :P Hope you enjoyed it and if you read, please review!