Chapter 4: Big Doctor Troubles

It had been a few days since their adventure with Rouge, and Kold still couldn't get over the realization they had made. The strange badniks that seemed to be controlled by someone else, who could it have been though? He had to figure it out, so he decided to investigate the closest Eggman base.

"So this is that Eggman base you mentioned right?" Joe asked as they looked over the large base above a hill. From afar they could see the several robots moving about and doing what looked like security detail. And some of the badniks had the same red color scheme instead of the usual orange. "It's the same as back in the last base we were in. But it looks like whoever took control of Eggman's robots took over this place completely."

"All the more reason to check this place out." Kold responded.

"I don't mind having a look, but don't you think we should let the more experienced people check this out?" The bear wondered. "We can give the info to The Restoration, they might wanna know about this stuff."

"Afraid to handle this on our own? I didn't think you'd shy away from this." Kold smirked. "If you think you can't handle some sneaking around, I'll handle this on my own."

"No way!" Joe quickly wrapped an arm around the fox's neck and pulled him close. "You and I are working together here! You're not gonna take the fun away from me."

"Alright, then follow my lead."

Kold created a road of ice and the two slid down closer towards the base. Using a blind spot, they infiltrated the side of the base and snuck inside behind a line of badniks.

"So far so good… nothing spotted us yet." Kold whispered, he looked around a corner and noticed the lack of security cameras before moving forward. "Whoever's controlling this base has a lack of security."

"If they're not as smart as Eggman, then maybe we don't have to worry as much." Joe suggested. "Maybe we can find the control room and blast this place too!"

"I'll admit that's one idea, but I feel like it won't be as easy. Not to mention we don't know anything about who the mastermind is." Kold stopped before a door, his guard at the ready for whatever might come their way. "We'll check out this room for any information. Get ready for any badniks that come our way."

Pulling out his Wispons, Joe was completely ready for whatever fight came their way. But his expression quickly changed when Kold opened the door and charged into a large squishy object. The two looked up to find the object was a large white belly, belonging to an even larger cat wielding a fishing pole with purple and violet striped fur along its body and tail. The big cat wore yellow gloves and sandals with a matching belt with a gold buckle holding it around his gut. "What in the!?" Kold looked completely baffled by the cat, but Joe smiled and lowered his guard.

"Well hey there big guy!" He greeted him.

"Hey little guy." The cat responded in a deep and slow tone of voice.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Kold questioned.

"Yeah! This is Big the Cat, he's a fisherman who lives in the forest of Mystic Ruins. He also happens to be another of Sonic's friends." Joe explained. "I met him while on one of my gigs, we just kinda became friends after that."

"Okay? So… why is he here?"

"Good question. What're you doing here, Big?" The bear asked.

"Well. I was looking for Froggy. We were going fishing when he went away somewhere." Big explained. "I tried looking for him and thought I saw him here. And then I met you guys."

"How'd you even sneak in here without being spotted?" Kold questioned.

"Ummm…. I dunno?"

"Seriously?" The fox scoffed.

"Big is a mystery. The times I ended up seeing him again were always in the weirdest of places. He's almost enigmatic that way." Joe smiled. "So Big? Did you end up finding Froggy?"

"No… but I'm sure he's here." Big responded. "I wonder where though? This place is so big and there's a lot of robots too."

"Well good luck with that, we have our own mission to do." Kold waved him off as he began to walk further down the hall. But Joe quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him. "I am not spending my time looking for a frog, understand me?"

"Kold, it's not like you have to help. Big can just come with us while we look for the mastermind ourselves. That way he can find Froggy without any danger." He suggested.

"And you honestly think the frog is here?"

"If he thinks so then I know so. Big's never been wrong before, ain't that right big-!?" The bear looked back to the door but found that the big cat had disappeared during the entire conversation. "Big? Oh man, where'd he go?"

"Froggy! Where are you?" The large feline was turning around the next corner when he stepped before a trio of Egg Pawns with spears at the ready. "Uh oh…"

Before the badniks could charge forth, they were quickly pierced through with pillars of ice. Kold sighed and quickly dispelled the ice. "And you still wanna help this guy?" He asked the bear beside him.

"Don't let this fool ya, Big's a powerhouse that could handle stuff like that easily." Joe assured. "Come on, can't we help him out?"

"...Fine." The fox finally gave in and looked toward the feline. "Big, right? Where was the last place you saw your… Froggy friend?"

"Well… when we were together. Froggy and I were in this room with a big computer." Big explained. "It showed a lot of different places on it."

"Different places huh? It must be the control room. Don't you think so, Kold?" Joe smirked in the fox's direction. "Okay, Big. Can you take us to where that room was? We gotta be sneaky about it though."

"Okie dokie, just follow me."

"This still feels like a bad idea…" Kold mumbled as the two followed the large feline through the hall. He couldn't help feeling a sense of dread, as if someone was watching them the whole time. If what Big said was true, then someone must've spotted them by now. "This feels more and more like a trap the further we go."

"It wouldn't be as exciting if there wasn't." Joe joked but made sure to keep his lightning wispon at the ready. "Big, how far are we to the control room?"

"Not too far, I'm sure we'll find it soon." Big answered, he looked around the different doors they passed trying to remember the one that led to the room in question when all of a sudden, the door in front of him opened up. The three looked inside and found the large computer in question. "There it is! Froggy! Where are you?"

"Well that was easy. We didn't have a single Badnik come at us on the way here." The bear pointed out.

"Yeah… we didn't…" Kold looked over the room before walking towards the large computer. He typed on the keyboard letting the screen come to life and show off several screens. "Well, it looks like we don't have to worry about needing a password. Seems this computer is focused on surveillance cameras. You can see almost everything on it."

"Oh! Can you look around and find Froggy then?" Joe suggested.

"Fine, but you're gonna have to look for yourself. I'm focusing on turning on the self-destruct, I think I can activate it from here."

"Fine, but just make sure we have enough time to… huh?" The bear quickly silenced himself when a sound suddenly caught his and Big's ears. They could hear the sounds of ribbits echoing through the room. "Do you hear that?"

"Froggy?" Big called out.

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to-gah!"

"Kold! What… happened?" Joe was ready to fire off a lightning whip when he turned to his friend, but was surprised to find the fox completely fine albeit extremely annoyed. On top of his head was a green frog, hopping atop of the fox to face them. "Huh, is that…"

"Froggy! There you are, little buddy!" Big beamed.

"Pfft! Looks like animals really do like you." The bear chuckled.

"Take. It. Now." Kold groaned as the large cat took his friend in his hands. "Now, back to focusing on the self-destruct sequence."

"Hey, wait a second. Check out that one window on the screen." Joe pointed back to the screen as it showed the different rooms. The one in question he pointed to showed an image of the three of them. "That's us, isn't it? That wasn't there before."

"You're right, something is wrong here…" Kold's feeling ended up correct when the door automatically closed on them. "Shoot! It was a trap after all!"

"What do we do!?" The bear fired off his grapple wire towards the exit and flung himself to the door with a flying kick. But the door was undamaged. "The door is tough, I can't break through it!"

"Just give me a moment! Maybe I can…. Maybe I can override it from the computer!" Kold quickly typed on the keyboard, trying to gain control of the compound when the screen suddenly changed revealing a familiar logo to the two. A white wave with gray highlights. "That logo again…"

"Goodness, I wasn't expecting all these guests! If I knew beforehand, I would've at least arranged some entertainment." The three watched as the ground under them began to open, rising from the hatch was a squad of Egg Knights with spears and shields at the ready. And at the front of them stood a white furred platypus with a pair of small orange glasses atop his black beak. He was about Joe and Kold's size wearing a red-velvet tuxedo with golden cufflinks, a shirt of the same color underneath, and a gray webbed glove. His left hand however sported a brown glove with gold tipped fingertips, a strange jewel with swirling colors of blue, red and yellow adorned the top of the glove. "Now then, how I can I help you three."

"A platypus?" Joe questioned when he noticed the three hair tufts of fur combed over to the right of the platypus' head. His eyes widened as he noticed the front hair tuft possessing the same gray highlight as the logo they saw. "That's him! He must be the one controlling these Badniks!"

"An astute observation. Allow me to introduce myself." He smirked as he gave a bow to the three trespassers. "I am Dr. Starline. I take it you're not here to assist me with my project in the works?"

"Does your project include working for Eggman? Cause if that's a yes, then no dice!" Joe retorted.

"Worry not. While I am an admirer of the great doctor and his work, after working with him on the metal virus I've learned a few things." Starline explained. "While a genius and visionary, the poor doctor has blinded himself. His desire to destroy Sonic causes him to make the same mistakes over and over again, even when I assisted him the results were still the same. That's why I've decided. I will personally take it upon myself to surpass him and his endeavors. I'll take his work and achieve what he never could!"

"That's some ambition, wanting to take over Eggman's empire like that." Kold responded. "So you're planning to just take over everything in his place, is that it?"

"Once the doctor has seen the error of his ways and recognizes my genius. I'll happily take him back and show him his fully realized Eggman Land!"

"A clingy fanboy who can't take a hint when their hero doesn't want them around. I may be a Sonic fan, but I'm not that bad. But I can at least save him the trouble and stop you here!" Joe quickly swung his wispon, a whip of lightning lashed out for the doctor but the platypus suddenly disappeared. "What the!?"

"Tsk! Tsk! Such a straightforward action is easy to predict." Starline retorted from the corner of the room, the platypus was surrounded in a blue aura as he charged forth at impressive speed and attacked the bear with a flying kick. Joe barely managed to dodge as the spiked spurs of Starline's boots managed to scratch his arm.

"He's fast… almost Sonic fast! Kold be…!?" Joe began to feel strange, his body grew heavy as he suddenly fell backwards. "What? Can't… move…!"

"Do you like it? My spurs have a neurotoxin that can incapacitate most people." Starline grinned as he stepped upon the bear's chest. "It's impressive you're still conscious though, if I hit you again with them it could be fatal. Perhaps I should give an extra dosage."

"Why don't you cool off instead!" Kold exclaimed and swung his hand out, creating a barrage of ice shards that fired at the platypus. Starline however dodged them, he pressed on the jewel on his glove, the blue aura enveloping him then turned yellow as he flew into the air. "So that's it, that jeweled glove of yours is what grants you your power."

"That's right! My Tricore grants me increased abilities, I can have sonic speed, the ability to fly and I can even match the strength of any of Sonic's bruiser friends." He explained gleefully. "It's a great invention of mine, but I must admit that your power is much more intriguing. Your cryokinesis is quite powerful, I've heard how one of Sonic's friends has powerful pyrokinesis of the same degree. I wonder which one of you would fare against the other?"

Kold quickly unleashed another barrage of ice, firing off more shards of ice as the platypus flew about to dodge them. "Tell me, Kold. Why don't you join me in my endeavors? Having someone with powers like yours would be quite the benefit, I would appreciate having your powers in my project."

"Do I look like a guinea pig to you?" Kold taunted.

"Oh? And what of your friends there?" Starline snapped his fingers, the badniks responded and pointed their spears towards Joe. "Joe's still immobilized, it wouldn't be hard to finish him right here."

"Kold, don't listen to him!" Joe tried to move, but the toxin was still having its effect while the spears were ready to pierce into his body.

"Can you save him while handling me? I'd like to see you try." Starline felt as if his victory was clear. But he was soon surprised when the badniks began to fly into the air. "What!?"

Seeing the two in trouble was more than enough for the Big to step in. With a mighty swing of his fishing rod, the feline began to smash each and every badnik surrounding the smaller bear. "You okay, little guy?" He asked as he held his hand out to grab.

"Heh, thanks big guy. Really appreciate the save there." Joe smiled and accepted the cat's help to his feet. "Oh hey, I can move my hand! I think the toxin is finally wearing off."

"Blast! Another mishap I overlooked." Starline seethed.

"You overlooked this too!" Kold clapped his hands together and summoned two large hands of ice to crush Starline between. The platypus however had quickly activated his tricore, switching to the red power based energy to smash through the ice and land back to the ground. "I'm not done with you!" The fox exclaimed as the shattered ice targeted and rained down on the doctor.

Starline quickly used his speed power, dashing through the raining ice shards and towards safety when he stopped right in front of Big. The large feline made a grab for him, but he jumped off his head and flew off toward the opposite end of the room. "A fine attempt! But you'll have to be smarter than that to take me down!" He boasted when a wire shot past his shoulder.

"How's this for smarter!" Joe launched himself from the ground, flinging himself towards the platypus with a flying kick but the attack was effortlessly avoided as he flew away from it.

"Hah! Is that what you call smart?" Starline mocked the bear, but the moment it looked as if he was about to hit the wall, Joe suddenly disappeared in a purple light. "But how!?"

"Where ya looking, Doc?" Joe smirked as he slammed his void wispon on top of Starline's head, throwing him back towards the ground. He landed beside him and watched as Kold quickly froze his arms and legs holding him in place. "Nice job, Kold! That'll keep him from using that glove of his."

"I'm surprised you managed to catch him off guard like that." Kold admitted.

"I'm not dumb, ya know? Plus I have my wisp buddies to help me out too." He smiled as he gave the two wisps a high five.

"Of course, I had forgotten the two wisp companions you have. Yet another oversight..." Starline grumbled.

"I'm sure you'll do that a lot, just like your hero Eggman. Time to call it quits, Doc." Joe smirked as their victory seemed at hand.

"I admit, I have made mistakes. But unlike the good doctor. I make it a habit to learn from mine." The platypus snapped his fingers and the door to the room opened up, revealing several egg pawns entering and surrounding them with spears and guns in hand. "You may have your friends to help you, but I believe the companionship of machines to be much more efficient. Don't you?"

"Uh oh..." Big readied his rod, standing back to back with Joe and Kold as one of the badnik freed Starline from the ice.

"Well boys, you put up a good enough fight. But not even you can handle all of these numbers at once." The platypus remarked. "So, shall we end it here?"

"Not good…" Joe readied both wispons, but even he wasn't sure that would be enough with these numbers and the doctor's tricore on hand. "Any ideas, Kold?"

"How far can you teleport with Void's power?" The fox whispered.

"Uh, several miles at best. Why?" He questioned curiously.

"Think you can do it with more than one person?"

"I never tried it before but… wait why are you asking?" Joe asked, more worried.

"Just get ready to do it!" Kold focused all of his power at that moment, he raised his fists and slammed them into the ground which unleashed a powerful icy tundra. Pillars of ice rose up, piercing every badnik in the room and continued moving forward throughout the entire base. As that happened, a larger pillar rose from under the three's feet, rising upwards and crashing them through the ceiling. They rose higher and higher into the air until the pillar finally stopped, flinging them higher into the air. "Do it, now!"

Following the fox's order, Joe grabbed onto Kold and latched onto Big's back. He quickly activated the Void wispon's ability and the three shot through the sky in a flash of purple light.

Dr. Starline just managed to catch them flying off, following them into the air to escape the attack but unable to follow their location as the light had disappeared. He looked down to see the base he worked so hard to obtain was destroyed so easily, turned into a frozen wasteland in almost an instant.

"Marvelous! Such an impressive amount of control and power, if only I had managed to collect a sample of him to further amplify their powers!" Starline was ecstatic, but his excitement soon faltered as he looked at his losses. "A shame to lose a perfectly good base, I'll have to return home for now. Perhaps we can plan to take over another base to replace this one. At the very least I've found a new field test for those two to try in the future. I'm looking forward to seeing the results."

Several miles away from Starline's base, Joe, Kold and Big found themselves in a large open field. The two fell off the feline as Void escaped his wispon looking very exhausted after teleporting them to safety. "Great job, Void… you definitely deserve a rest after that." The bear sighed in relief, looking over to see the fox had fallen flat on his face. "Kold? You uh… doin ok there?"

"Shut. Up." He grumbled before pulling his head out from the grass. "That was way too close for comfort… but at least we know what we're up against now."

"Yeah, a just as smart, just as deadly Eggman wannabe. Only he learns how to fix his mistakes." Joe responded. "I hope Sonic and the gang will have a plan to handle both of them. Hey, Big? Are you doing ok?"

"Froggy?" The gentle giant looked down at the frog in his hand, his little friend had stopped moving but a little snot bubble could be seen coming from its nose. "What's wrong little buddy? Are ya sleepy?"

"Your frog is fine, the cold temperature from all my ice just put him in hibernation." Kold assured while getting to his feet. "He should stay asleep for a little while."

"I guess we could both use a nap." Big gave a loud yawn as he stood up as well. "Thanks for helping me find Froggy you guys, you're really good buddies."

"No problem, Big. We were happy to help… right, Kold?" Joe teased, nudging the fox.

"Yeah… thanks for saving Joe too. I… appreciate it." He blushed as he admitted his concern for Joe's safety.

"No problem little guys. Let's go home, Froggy."

Big happily waved them goodbye as he turned to walk away with Froggy in his arms The two just watched as the cat left so nonchalantly. "To this day, I can still never read that guy. Big's just a big enigma, ain't that right Kold? Kold?" Joe quickly moved to catch the fox as he began to stumble back. "Whoa! Are you alright?"

"I… will be…putting my all into that… really wears me out. That's why I don't do it so often…" Kold panted. "But it was better than getting us all killed…"

"Why do all that? Couldn't you have thought of something smaller to escape?" Joe wondered.

"Not for all of us to escape. Doing that was the only thing I could think of. And besides I… I um…" He blushed looking back to the bear's gaze. "I… trusted you to have my back in the end there… so I went for the gamble."

"Heh, is that right?" Joe smiled at the response. "Well, I think we deserve a nice break to recharge our energy after that. And I know the perfect place to go."

"Some sort of bustling town I bet?"

"Nope! I'm taking you to my hometown! To Windmill Village!"

A brand new chapter introducing Big and Dr. Starline, and eluding to two other characters our heroic duo will have to tussle with in the future. Keep a lookout for more in the future.^^