Disclaimer- I only own Seth and Lee.
" Seth" whimpered Rouge. Her hand to her mouth, chewing her glove silently, frozen into non-action. " Seth...". The robot didn't move. The little creature inside of it not seeming to understand his mothers cries.
" You bastard" Knuckles growled in a low, warning tone. His fists shook, clenched tightly. His jaw locked tight, muscles working. Parental and protectional fear welled up inside him, while rage boiled and surged, threatened to explode. Eggman only grinned smugly at the insult.
" Seth...Seth..." Rouge continued to call softly. Her brain couldn't , wouldn't, process the information. She still seemed to think that it was just her sweet little boy, looking for his mother, as she looked for her son.
" Oh shut it, you stupid women" Eggman snapped, already getting irritated of Rouge's repetition and keen to show off his new little toy. " Your son is now in my control, or rather, the robots control. It's name is Leech, effective engine. Or Lee, if you want to be lazy". At the mention of its name, the robot snapped into attention. Or rather, Seth did. His head straightened itself up from where it had been slouched on his chest. At his moment, the robot itself stopped slouching and stood to attention with it's full height showing. Rouge let out a little sob. " Lee's host has been pumped full of drugs to regress his will and will now only obey commands from me. Since he is so young, Lee will help him to understand. Now ...for the fun part". He grinned and peered down at the two parents, Rouge had begun to cry silently, the tears rolling down her cheek, while Knuckles got more angry any second.
" Pull it together Rouge!" Knuckles ordered roughly, seeing her crying, instantly regretting it later, as his harsh tone just made her cry even harder. Steaming and worrying at the same, Knuckles took Rouge into his arms, trying to use his presence and warmth to comfort her, his eyes wide in shocked misbelieve at the situation he had found himself in. Rouge sobbed bitterly and cuddled to his chest, her tears running into his fur.
" But that's not what makes this robot so special!" Eggman continued with triumphant enthusiasm, as if his new creation was a world saving device, rather than a contraption to cause unhappiness and fear. " You see , Lee's host, carries a large amount of chaos energy about him, which radiates from him the whole time. This is what gives Lee it's strength, but also, they are fused in minds, through this energy, so you see, these are two minds in one body. So you see, as it's host grows more intelligent, so does Lee. Isn't that just the perfect thinking, murderer machine?" Eggman bragged, then addressed his question to a quivering Knuckles and a sobbing Rouge. Knuckles tore his attention away from Rouge and stared at Eggman, his eyes screaming death.
" Don't call him 'host'. His name his Seth and he is my son!" He demanded, his voice trying to sounds threatening but it broke, going a little too high and showing Eggman his fear. Not the fear for the robot that was standing before him, but for the safety of his son. Rouge only continued to cry.
" Was your son. Now he is my slave" Eggman declared, baring his rotten teeth in a gut retching smile. Knuckles bared his teeth.
" That's it Eggman!" He announced, removed his arms from around Rouge and leapt into the air, aiming his high jump to Robotnics floating chair, which hovered tantalisingly within his reach. But Eggman roared and yelled
" No you don't! Lee! Protect your master!" He ordered and with his voices command, Seth's little shoulders hunched and the robots legs bent, then recoiled, sending the robot flying into the air with an impressive jump. His force was enough for him to block Knuckles target, so instead the fathers fist smashed into the front of the robot, which sent a ripple of pain down Knuckles arms through his knuckles bones, but no visible discomfort to the robot or Seth, who simply hunched his shoulders again as he landed, then raised an arm, which caused the robot to raise it's own, as if asking for an attack. Knuckles obliged and launched himself directly at the robots arm, being careful to avoid any direct contact with his son. He punched directly at the robots joint, hoping to do enough damage to snap the forearm right off. However, it seemed that the robot was made of tougher stuff and not even a scratch or bend to it's arm. However, Knuckles was more than alarmed and felt a bolt of fear and guilt shoot through him as Seth's drew in his own arm to his body, what was not covered of his face grimaced in pain. Knuckles mouth hung open and a small whimper escaped his burger as he realised he had just hurt his own son. He barely had time to process that thought as Seth's eyes once again locked onto him and his unhurt arm raised itself, a blast of quickly collected energy ran down from his own arm and to the open hand of the robot, next jumped from it and launching itself at Knuckles. The poor animal barely had time to dodge as the blast rushed past him, burning the ground behind him. He stared into Seth's eyes, but he didn't see the face of his son, but rather the crushing control of the robots mind as it inhabited him. Seth's eyes were lean and intent, no longer the sweet young baby which he had once been, but now a possessed soul. Knuckles could hardly look at him anymore.
But it seemed the robots control was too strong for Seth to overcome, as again and again the robot launched attacks, sometimes using the chaos energy he had drained from Seth in an attack like he had before. Some attacks Knuckles dodged, but some hit, leaving ugly bruise on Knuckles sides, that seemed to grow larger and more purple every time he was shattered by the robots blows. As time progressed, it became more and more apparent that more of the attack that the robot was launching were hitting there targets and, no matter how many blows were landed on Knuckles, he still wouldn't even attempt to counter attack.
Finally, after a particularly nasty blow to Knuckles head, Eggman ordered the robot to stop, after himself being almost forgotten about during the frantic torture that the robot was delivering to Knuckles.
" ...So...you like my little toy?"
Sonic, meanwhile, had found more signs leading the way to Amy. He was glad it was going to be easy. He hoped he could be in, rescue Amy, be forgiven and apologised to for being kicked out, then sped out, dropping an insult or two to Doctor Robotnic on the way. He imagined a glorious solo rescue mission into the depths of an enemy's base, proving his heroism once again, so, he was a little disappointed when he heard the rush of air that indicated the active jet shoes getting closer, knowing he didn't need any help.
" I'm here to keep an eye on you" Shadow said as he slid up to the side of him, both rushing full pelt down the long, door less, corridor. Sonic snorted rudely and said cockily
" Please! I don't need your help! I've dealt with old Egghead a million times before on my own" he said. Shadow nodded in an accepting way, but still argued back.
" Don't get over confident, it's always going to be your downfall. Never forget you haven't had a fight with the doctor for years, something might catch you by surprise" he said reasonably, hoping that Sonic would take at least some kind of attention to his words. Unfortunately, Sonic did the exact opposite and overtook him, turning round and running backwards just as rapidly. He faced Shadow and said in a hugely arrogant manner
" Please! I'm the blue blur! What could possibly catch me by surprise?" He bragged, turned, then smashed head first into a closed, metal door.
Knuckles shuddered as he felt hot, furious tears slide down his cheek. It wasn't the pain that bothered him, but the fact that Seth was so deeply buried in Robotnics mind control, enough to cause harm to his own father without even realising it, that Knuckles felt that for the first time, he had truly lost his son. He choked on his growling breaths, his tears falling slow, but deliberate. Eggman saw his face and, for a second, it looked like the mad old doctor had a flicker of compassion washed over his old, haggard and hating face. But it was soon back to business. The business of misery.
" Answer me echidna! Or I'll set him on your slut of a wife" the doctor demanded, leaning over the side of his chair and staring down at Knuckles. The echidna twitched when the doctor mentioned Rouge, but didn't reply. His throat seemed to have seized up. " Well...? What do you have to say? Complement my creation! Lee deserves it after beating such a highly skilled fighter like yourself.
Knuckles raised his head weakly, one eye bruised closed.
" Stop ... Calling ... Him ...Lee..." He muttered, his breath almost lost. The doctor raised an eyebrow.
" Would you rather call it a masterpiece? How about miracle of modern technology? Take your pick, or see if your inventive enough to come up with a better one" The doctor said. But although his words seemed to be ones of playful bragging, his tone and facial expression said otherwise. They were harsh and a vein pulsed in his wrinkled forehead.
" It's my son that's the miracle! Your piece of crap is just using him! And I want him back! NOW!" Knuckles demanded as he stood up, the fight suddenly back in him. The robots knees sank and its arms spread in front of him, getting into a threatening position, as Seth's ears flopped back against his head to add to the effect. The perfect co-operation of the two sickened Knuckles, as he so wanted Seth to be controlled, at least then, he was doing none of this willingly.
Eggman frowned. " That didn't sound anything like a compliment, Knuckles. You know the deal, you don't worship my work of art, you know who gets punished". Knuckles gasped, worried and shot his glance towards Rouge, as she cowered, clearly broken, on the floor. But it seemed, there was little time to do anything, as Seth's own glance followed his fathers and soon his eyes were locked onto his mother. Robotnic grinned as a button was pushed and Seth's legs jerked, the robot's legs in turn taking a step forward, and another, and another. Knuckles froze, silently begging that Rouge would react, fly out of the way, something. But no, she too seemed to be frozen, frozen by the death glare of her own son apon her, not believing what she was seeing or what she was thinking. Had she really been that bad of a parent? Did Seth really hate her enough for him to want to hurt her?
" Now Seth ...punish her..." Eggman said, in a deathly low voice, full of evil. Rouge shuddered and hugged herself, sobbing and choking as the robots cold glare crashed right through her. Seth's uninjured arm was raised and so too did the robots and with that movement an orb of chaos energy was swiftly collected. Knuckles had a brief thought about how powerful his son really was, the fact he to control chaos energy at such a young age, but it was quickly diverted back to Rouge, as she said, quivering in sadness.
She felt the end come. She could feel the fury in her sons eyes, fury which she knew a robot, no matter how advanced it was, could produce. A fresh tear ran down her cheek as she looked up, some how baring to take that horrible glare of her sons again, the unyielding face of a killer. Her eyes locked to his. His seeming to see straight through hers, seemingly not even seeing who she was. She sobbed a little more. She wanted her son back, the son who was small and innocent, who would snuggle to her when he was tired, the son who reminded her so much of her love for Knuckles.
" S...Seth..." She gently called to her child, her voice little more than a whisper. The robot stared at her, seeming not to hear. Seth's cold eyes still staring strong. But then, a flicker. A tiny breakdown in the stone cast of his expression. Then another, and another. His eyes softened, tipping his eye ridges upwards in a position of regret. His soft baby cheeks returned, fattening where they had been so thinned out. The robots arm hung, motionless in the air, waiting for an assault, but not striking. The strike had been stopped by its host.
The two continued to stare, Rouge feeling and seeing more and more of her little baby return every second. A small smile appeared on her face. Seth's mouth opened behind his mask.
" Maaa...mm..yy?" He uttered softly, his voice barely more than a babble, but beginning to form something else. Rouge gasped at his speech, her tears turning into emerging joy. She took a shuddery breath and said weakly
" Seth ... Please ...don't..." She begged. Seth looked at her, seeming to understand.
" Naooooooo" he whimpered, his ears lying flat as if being screamed at. But Lee was helping him to understand the situation, to understand that he had done wrong. He turned in the blink of an eye, the orb of energy still shining in his elongated hand and he flung it behind him, straight at Eggman's floating chair. Temporarily in shock, he didn't have time to react as another ball of energy was slammed into him. However, Seth wasn't so lucky with the third, as Eggman managed to pull up a shield that reflected his blow, so it reflected straight back at Seth, hitting the robot that he was attached to square in the chest. Seth's screwed up his face in pain, then fury, as his violet orbs opening again, they seemed to burn with a furious orange fire. Eggman was chilled to the core when he saw it.
" N..no...i am your master! I created you! I gave you a mind! You can't attack me! You can't!" He screamed in desperation. But it seemed, Seth had already made up his mind. He curled his back, tightened his arms, clenched his tiny fists and gritting his milk teeth. This alone would not have looked particularly fearsome, but, since Lee had also mimicked his pose( even though the command switch between Seth and Lee had long been turned off by Eggman) and Seth had begun to glow a golden yellow, energy seeping from him and staining Lee's blue paint work with a golden tint too. It took to reason that something within Seth had clicked and that only strengthened the bond between the robot and infant. Then, something extraordinary happened. The robot, shimmering and glowing and Seth, his dreadlocks swirling around his head, began to levitate. The doctors eyes stretched open with terror, a fear at his lose of control. Then, Lee's speaker systems activated and a voice rang out from the two. Both Seth and Lees arm pointed to Eggman and the robots synthetic voice echoed through the circular , plated room.
" You are not my master! You are evil!" The robots tinny voice screamed. Seth's eyes too, were locked onto Eggman and it became clear that, although it was Lee that was producing the sounds, the words were coming from within Seth's mind, with help from his link with Lee. " You hurt my daddy! You made my mummy upset!" The robot claimed, its voice too passionate to be simply a machines. " I'm gonna' hurt you bad!" It announced, then shot forward, blasts of circular energy leaping from the robots hands as it hurtled, flying towards Eggman, who's craft was far to slow to make a get away. Then, within seconds, both creatures collided with the craft with amazing force, Seth's arm no longer held limp but stretched out in front of him, his knuckles forced forward in an attacking position. Eggman's craft buckled from the strain, being shoved and pushed backwards into the wall with such incredible force, the walls around them began to shake.
The return of control to her so seemed to also mean a return of control to Rouge, as she managed to work her way out of her disbelieving trance and headed over to the battered and wounded Knuckles, propping up his head on her knee. But awe melted through both of them as they saw Seth's power revealed, then his words voiced aloud through the mouth of a robot. It was an amazing, yet terrifying sight, to see there sons innocent baby face distorted with such anger, such fury towards another living creature. The lust to kill should never show in a babies face, one who has not even lived a year of his life. Finally , panic flew through both of them as they felt the walls shudder from impact and the ground rumble under their feet. The impact from the chaos powered robot into Eggman's craft and in turn the wall was just too much and, before they could comprehend the situation, the ceiling began to fall in. Rouge screamed as a plate of metal that once stood wielded to the ceiling fell just a few feet in front of her, nearly crushing Knuckles to death.
Seth heard his mothers scream and knew, even without the help from Lee, that his mother was in danger. His extended robot arm clenched around the scruff of Eggman's shirt, he turned his head to see the room around him collapsing. The doctor saw his chance.
" Go on! Save her! She'll die if you don't" he hissed, knowing fully well that if Seth didn't understand straight away, Lee would make him.
The robot body fidgeted , turned a little, as Seth looked around and tried to decide, then shoved Eggman just a little more and let go, turning round and shooting towards his parents. He picked both of them up, using Lee's strength filled arms, then stretched out his arm and blasted his way through the wall using chaos driven acceleration. Knuckles caught a glance at his sons eyes and saw their pupils growing red, his golden fur shimmering as his small face concentrated on its task. He felt a wave of pride for the new found strength of his son, but also fear of what Eggman had turned him into.
Another impact indicated another wall smashed through, then another and another, until finally, the sharp sting of sunlight rested in their eyes and the musty, still air of the base left there nostrils, they had escaped.
Rapidly loosing their immensely glowing colour, the robot and child descended to the desert sand, landing on robots legs and bent their knees to take in the impact. Seth's eyes faded back to there pale violet colour and his face seemed, at last, to just be his own. Babies excitement filled his eyes as he put his parents down, then tried to grasp onto the two with his own arms, but as a result forced the two to duck, as Lee's long, lanky arms swung forward with his own. Seth seemed confused by this, and attempted to grasp onto his mother again, but again, Lee responded identically. For the first time the robots synchronisation seemed to up set him and his newly joyous face quickly faded as he became upset, little winning noises in his throat told Knuckles and Rouge that he was threatening to cry.
Luckily, after a little searching, Knuckles found the means to detach Seth from the device and, while he proceeded to do so, Rouge watched as the bases outside walls collapsed into themselves as the whole base began to die. She felt relief it was all over, then briefly wondered if the damage from Seth and the robot had really been all that was needed to take down a base of that size. But then the realisation hit her that no-matter how powerful the robot and her son were, they could not knock down a reinforced sky scraper like that with one hit. She then remembered Sonic and Shadow had been in there and came to the conclusion that it was something they had done. But then another thought occurred to her. One which bought terror to her already fear exerted heart.
" Where are Sonic, Shadow and Amy?" She said allowed, voicing her concern to Knuckles, who stopped climbing up to the robots shoulders and turned to face her, his eyes wide. He didn't respond, instead turning again to look at the base, which was now just a huge pile of rubble crushed together by the force of gravity and too the open plane around them, with no sign of anyone else appearing...
Authors notes
Lately i've found myself more into action that romance and drama, so I wrote this chapter. I think it rules, but please, I don't want my opinion, I want yours! Review!