"Welcome to your new home!" Eggman announced, sweeping an arm to the view below. Sonic peered through the window of the eggmobile with wide eyes, his breath taken away at the building's sight. The base was massive! It had to be the biggest of all of Eggman's bases Sonic had ever seen, roughly the size of 3 football fields, not counting the outside perimeter. The metal building towered over the manicured landscape and glistened in the sunlight, shaped like a giant square with a hole in the middle.
A square metallic donut came to Sonic's mind.
As they drew closer, the blue devil could make out parts of a garden in the center. The grass freshly cut and shining with dew, bushes, and trees healthy and planted aesthetically. He could even see a fountain bubbling in the center of it all. Who knew the doctor had an eye for mother nature?
Eggman smiled with pride at the hedgehog's reaction, "This is my secret home. It's where I go to relax and come up with ideas for my latest inventions." he boasted, "You'll have plenty of space to run around in if you get to feeling too cooped up."
As he admired the view, a thought suddenly occurred to Sonic, one that he really hadn't thought of before, pulling him out of his awe. "How can you afford all of this? As many of your bases and bots that I've trashed over the years, I'd think you would've run out of funds ages ago." Jostling the handle and pressing a button opening a door into the base, Eggman steered the vehicle into the garage for a landing. "I have several accounts in stocks all under a different name, mind you, that helps fund most of my creations, but I don't just make destructive robots, you know. I also build machines that help people."
Sonic raised an eyebrow to that in surprise, "Really?" he asked skeptically, "Yes! For instance, I've made several inventions to help hospitals and first responders. You remember my old robotisizer?"
"How could I forget that thing!"
Eggman chuckled, "Well, that was originally made to help people in need of prosthetics. It would replace the original limb, but the artificial replacement would function just like a real arm or leg with synthetic nerve endings and the ability to touch and feel." Emerald eyes widen in disbelief, "That was what the robotisizer was for?!"
"Yup!" Eggman nodded, powering down the vehicle and stepping out. Well, that's an interesting bit of information. Sonic thought before shaking away his shock and hopped out of the eggmobile to see Orbot and Cubot hovering by the door leading into the rest of the base. "Good afternoon, Doctor! I assume everything went according to plan since our newest addition has accompanied you?" Orbot chirped. "Heya Sonic, great to have you join the team!" Cubot waved; Sonic, with an awkward smile, waved in return. "Yes, everything has gone swimmingly! Now, if you will excuse us, I have much to do to welcome Sonic to his new home." Eggman responded, waving for the hedgehog to follow him.
Sonic followed the large man keeping his senses on high alert; he was deep in the enemy's territory now and didn't trust Eggman one bit. Despite the doctor's claims to change for the better and acting hospitable and polite instead of temperamental and screaming. This didn't prove that the doctor couldn't turn off the act and go back to wanting to murder the hedgehog at his first opportunity. And it also didn't mean Sonic had to be on his best behavior either.
An idea formed in the blue blur's mind as they walk down the hallways. Maybe if I cause enough trouble, Eggman will kick me out and still keep his end of the bargain! Just because I have to stay here with Eggface doesn't mean I have to be nice to him...though maybe I shouldn't push my luck too much don't want to give the guy a reason to do me in or to go back on his word. Just be irritating enough that he thinks I'm more trouble than I'm worth. He stifles a snicker thinking of all the trouble and misery he could cause the human.
"After you," Eggman says, opening a door gesturing for the hedgehog to go inside, blinking back to reality, Sonic walks into the room.
It was another office, the furniture a similar style to the one in the base they had just left, but this room was lit up by warm light, actually letting him see the rest of the inside instead of overbearing darkness. One wall was covered with an assortment of books and decorative knick-knacks, the floors and furniture made out of dark wood with an unlit fireplace on the opposite wall.
Sonic leaps onto a plush leather chair, careful not to let his quills poke any holes. Eggman takes his seat at the desk, "Now before I give you the grand tour, there are a few house rules we need to go over." an ear flicks, and green eyes roll very much like the annoyed teenager Sonic was.
"Rule 1. You will not destroy the base or any of my robots here. You are to consider this base as your home now, so treat it as such. The service robots are no threat to you, so there's no need to attack them, including Metal Sonic. I made some adjustments to his programming. He will not attempt to hurt you, but I do expect you two to treat each other with respect, so no funny business."
Sonic gave the rule a brief thought and nodded, knowing he wouldn't have to worry about his robotic copy attempting to end his life was a relief, so that rule seemed like a reasonable request.
"Rule 2. I will not stand for any sort of foul language, I realize you have been on your own for quite some time now and will make slip-ups, but I will still correct and punish you as needed when you disobey. Rule 3-"
"Woah Woah, Woah, wait! Punishments?! I thought you said you wouldn't hurt me?!"
"And I won't. However, you are still a minor, and under my roof, any disobedience or blatant disregard to the rules will be swiftly corrected with non-torturous punishment methods—anyway, rule 3. You will be required to wear this at all times." pulling something round out of his jacket pocket, the human quickly clamped something around the hedgehog's neck. Startled at the sudden action, Sonic clasped the thing now attached to his neck. His pupils shrunk, and his eyebrows went as far up as his ears. Eggman had put a collar on him...like a pet. Growling, he pulled at the device, "What the Hell?!"
Bzzzzzt!
"Aggghh!" he cried, feeling an electrical pulse run through his body before it stopped. "Don't even try to take it off." Eggman commanded, "Only I have the code to unlock it. So unless you want to get fried to a crisp, I suggest you leave it be." Sonic glared at the doctor, growling, "You son of a bi-AAAaaaah!" he yelled, another shock coursing through his muscles.
The shock didn't last more than a few seconds, but Chaos did it hurt. He panted through the pain glaring at the human through one eye. His left shoulder muscle was still twitching in reaction to the electrical pulse. "I...I'm guessing that's...one of my...punishments? So what? I'm gonna be your little-pet for the next 6 months?" Sonic spat, struggling not to continue clawing at the collar. "This is just something to help keep you in line, hedgehog. Can't have you destroying this base like you've done all my others."
"Aww, where's the fun in that?" Sonic sarcastically whined after he was somewhat recovered. "Don't be so dramatic, Sonic; I promise it won't be that bad," Eggman spoke tonelessly, standing up concluding his the breakdown of house rules. "Come, I'll give you a tour."
Sonic continued to stare angrily at the human before puffing out a breath of air in frustration. Carefully he stood up on the chair and leaped over the back, flipping a few times, and lands before the doctor tossing his blue quills back dramatically with a confident smirk. Sending a clear message that the doctor's rules weren't going to keep him down.
Eggman rolls his eyes at the blue devil, walking out the door.
As massive as the base was on the outside, Sonic would have sworn to the master emerald the building was even bigger on the inside! He was grateful to Eggman for giving him a tour of the place; a few times when Sonic turned around to get a better look at something, he instantly got lost. If it weren't for the doctor's slow, steady pace and bright red jacket, he would have never found his way back.
The base comprised of 3 floors. The basement was a dedicated laboratory where the doctor conducted research and built his creations. The first floor served as a warehouse, holding supplies and tools to help repair and maintain the base. The final floor was split between the living and recreational quarters; one side had the kitchen, offices, dining, bed, and bathrooms. While the other had an arcade, gym complete with running track and swimming pool, the garden, movie theatre, library, and lounging area.
Eggman explained that Sonic's collar held many capabilities. It served as a tracker, keycard, shocker and recorded the hedgehog's vitals. Stepping into an elevator, Eggman pressed the button for the basement, "While you will have access to most areas, the lab and warehouse will be off-limits unless I grant you entry. There is no reason for you to be in those areas. Also, if you step outside the base's fence perimeter on a day I do not have scheduled, it will insert a paralyzing toxin to keep you from running away."
"Why all the precautions, Eggbreath? Don't you trust me?" Sonic scoffed, his irritation and slight headache rising at all the increasing list of restrictions and nose scrunching up at the scent of sterile bleach in the air. The elevator chimed as the doors opened. "You are a crafty little creature, " Eggman continued flatly, strolling down the metal hallways. "I would not be surprised if you were forming some means of escape while still having me keep my word as we speak. Although we have come to a...somewhat peaceful truce. It is a shaky one. One that I'm not willing to let you risk breaking." pushing a door open, the human stepped inside a brightly lit room with Sonic right behind him.
"Now..." Eggman's voice and face brightened up, patting the thin paper lining a bed, "Hop on up here so I can do a quick checkup."
Sonic froze, paling at the sight in front of him, realizing he had just walked into the doctor's private examination room. It looked exactly like one in a regular hospital, the tall bed with paper sheets, weight scale, various medical implements hanging on the wall with posters about human and mobian physiology, and cabinets filled with other doctor's tools. Unlike the rest of the base that smelled of a weird mixture of oil and grass, this room reeked of medicine and disinfectant.
Sonic could barely remember the last time he was in a doctor's office. All he faintly remembered from his last visit as a hoglet was crying, pain, and terror. After that experience and his interactions with Dr. Eggman, he had sworn off all doctors medical or the other kind. He took a step back, stomach twisting in horror at where he found himself.
"Well, come on, Sonic!" the doctor tapped the bed again, "It's just a little check-up. You're not afraid, are you?"
"No, I'm not!" Sonic barked defiantly. Yet the ears that laid flat against his head and tail between his legs said otherwise. Eggman sneered at the obviously nervous hedgehog, "Prove it." he goated. Sniffing in disdain, Sonic kept his glare fixed firmly on the ceiling but made no attempts to move. That was until he felt a pair of hands grab his midsection, "Eep!" he squirmed at the foreign hands lifting him onto the bed, the paper making an annoying crackling noise as he moved.
After placing his patient on the bed, Eggman turned to the cabinets pulling out the tools he would need for the hedgehog's examination. He wasn't just a doctor of robotics! Like his late grandfather, Eggman had also studied in the other realms of science, including; genetics, anatomy, biology, and medicine, just to name a few.
Returning to his uneasy patient, Eggman put the earbuds of the stethoscope in place, "Now just relax and breath." Sonic bared his teeth at the round man quills bristling; no way was he going to let Eggman study him like one of his science experiments. The doctor stepped back, startled by the hostile and feral reaction. Frowning, he calmly reprimanded the hedgehog for his behavior, "Don't make this any harder than it has to be pine cone. Just sit still and cooperate."
Sonic took in a steady breath and reminded himself to breathe so his voice wouldn't shake, giving away his terror as he asked, "You won't give me any shots?" Eggman faltered at the question, rethinking how he would proceed; he had planned on extracting some blood. Still, his patient's reaction to just the stethoscope suggested he stick to the basics and leave anything even slightly invasive for another time. The poor hedgehog seemed nervous enough as it was; the human could almost see Sonic's peach arms shaking as he gripped the bed paper like a lifeline. "No shots. I promise." Eggman swore.
After closely scanning the doctor over, seeing that he was telling the truth, Sonic relented. Slowly relaxing his quills and sitting up straight to allow the doctor to listen to his heart, but he remained tense. Smiling in thanks, Eggman again slowly approached to listen to the organ beating behind a peach furry chest, "Strong and fast, just as I expected." he hummed with approval.
The examination was carried on in relative silence beside the small growls and hisses; Sonic would warn him every few minutes. Besides, that everything went smoothly and quickly.
"One last thing and we're done," Eggman announced, pulling a thermometer out of his pocket, reaching to place it in the hedgehog's ear. Again Sonic folded his ears flat against his skull, stubbornly being uncooperative. The blue blur truly was a doctor's or vet's worse nightmare. "Alright, we'll try it another way." the human patiently proposed placing the handheld machine aside; he grabbed an old-fashioned thermometer from the counter, "Now open wide..." again, Sonic refused, snapping at the hand then clamping his mouth firmly shut. "Come now, Sonic, we can either do this the easy way...or the hard way." the doctor smiled deviously.
Sonic turned away from the doctor, lying flat on his stomach and resting his head in his folded arms, refusing to move like a stubborn little kid and unknowingly put himself in a compromising position. Having had enough of being poked and prodded like a frog in middle school science class.
The doctor tsked, walking away, "Have it your way, then~." he sing songs. Sonic quirks his brow at the doctor's odd tone but ignores it, closing his eyes; he smirks, thinking he had worn Eggman down enough to leave him alone for the moment.
A faint click from behind alerts the blue blur that something was off. Sonic attempts to get up but finds his legs stuck where they were as some restraints were preventing him from moving. His gut soured, and his heart began to race as he felt someone grab his tail, pulling him up into a downward dog position. Panicking, Sonic gripped the edges of the bed futility, trying to keep his back end from rising anymore. Awkwardly twisting his spiky head, emerald eyes widened in horror, and a blush quickly fills his face when he sees Eggman firmly grasping his tail in one hand and a funny-looking thermometer in the other. You didn't have to get to medical school to figure out where that thing was going to go.
"No, no. Don't you even dare..." he shuttered, "I'm sorry, Sonic, but you asked for this."
"You stick that thing up my butt, and I will not hesitate to claw your eyes out and make your life a living-!"
"Do you really want to finish that sentence, Sonic?" Eggman threatened, inching the thermometer closer to its target; the hedgehog sweatdropped, unable to wriggle away from this...humiliating position without ending up with an injured tail as tightly as the doctor was holding the appendage keeping him from guarding where the light didn't shine.
"No, please don't." he whimpered on the verge of begging. "I'm sorry, Sonic. I gave you a chance to cooperate, but you've forced my hand. Now hold still." Sonic quickly turned away, squeezing his eyes shut and white-knuckling the bed, bracing himself. Eggman pinched his tail, making him yell.
"Aaaahhhhh! ... Huh?" Sonic's scream slowly died in the air, confused as to why he didn't feel anything...go in?
BEEP!
"96.5 degrees. Perfect!" opening his eyes, Sonic saw a forehead thermometer hovering in front of his head, "Huh?"
Eggman quietly snickers at the bewildered hedgehog for falling for his little trick, casually walking to a switch to release the bonds as if nothing had ever happened. "Yup, a perfectly healthy little hedgehog!"
Sonic curls up immediately after being released, flushing in humiliation and pouting at the obese human for his making him look like a fool. Eggman acted like he didn't notice the hedgehog's glare checking his watch and exclaiming innocently, "Woah! Would you look at that? It's almost time for dinner!" Writing the last of his notes down and sanitizing his hands, the doctor ruffled Sonic's head, who grumbled at the affectionate gesture sitting up and patting his quills back in place. Jumping off the bed, Sonic leads the way out back to the elevator thoroughly, hoping he never had to see that room again.
The dining room was simple yet elegant like the rest of the base. Sonic took what he assumed was his place at the table next to Eggman. The doctor snapped his fingers, signaling Metal Sonic to appear from the kitchen double doors. The shiny blue robot was clad in a frilly apron that said 'Kiss the cook or die' surrounded with little pink hearts. Sonic internally cringed, easily imagining Amy wearing the apron, forcing Sonic to consume something she had cooked up for a "date."
Metal stiffly strode up to the table, setting each plate in front of their respective diners. Eggman lifted the lid, letting the steam escape and revealing a freshly boiled lobster surrounded by an assortment of condiments and veggies, "Wonderful Metal! Thank you." the robot beeped in acknowledgment, red happy eyes appearing on his optical screen then switching to mad eyes glaring at his organic counterpart. It seemed the good doctor had forgotten to delete the robot's distaste for his counterpart. Sonic ignored the angsty robot lifting the lid and revealing his meal. Please be chili dogs; please be chili dogs! He prayed, crossing his fingers, but his hopes dashed to pieces seeing a very healthy salad with dressing on the side; he slammed the cover back on the plate.
Eggman, just about to take a bite of his lobster, notices the disgruntled hedgie push his meal away. "What's wrong this time?" He questioned, groaning internally, thinking the blue blur was quite possibly a picky eater.
"I don't eat salad. Can't I get some chili dogs instead? Or nachos, or a burger or something?"
"You have too much fast food in your diet. I've selected a range of healthy, nutritious meals and snacks a growing hedgehog like yourself needs. Chili dogs and other greasy fast food items will not be served here during your stay, but you are free to indulge in such things when you are out." Eggman calmly reasoned.
"Are you kidding me?! Do you know how much food I can pack away? There's a reason why I eat that greasy fast food stuff. 1. it tastes much better than this rabbit food. 2. it's cheap. 3. It's the only thing that remotely fills me up. So unless you want a huge grocery bill, though I think you already have one as much as you eat, " Sonic coughed the last part behind his gloved fist, "I suggest you have your 'chef' here make me some chili dogs."
A bushy mustache twitched, "Hmph! I don't mind paying a little more for food if you need it, Sonic. Because I'm not changing my mind. So unless you want to go to bed hungry-" Eggman pointed to the covered dish, "I suggest you eat that so-called rabbit food. If your still hungry, I can have Metal make you some more." Sonic was extremely annoyed by this order, tempted to throw his meal at the doctor for forcing this change of his eating habits, but he was starving. Maybe I can eat him out of house and home, so he doesn't have enough money to make any more stupid destructive robots? Though as nice as that sounded, he knew it was a crazy thought.
Sighing, Sonic begrudgingly lifted the lid off his plate, angrily stabbing the pile of lettuce with a fork, and shoved it into his mouth. Chewing and swallowing as fast as he could, not even bothering with the dressing. It won't make much difference anyway. He continued taking another bite.
Eggman grimaced at Sonic's lack of table manners but decided to let it go for now since he had had to convince the hedgehog to eat his greens. He needed to pick his battles if he was to win the war. The table manners could wait until another time. This may be a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated. He internally lamented, dipping a portion of lobster in melted butter.
"So..." Sonic spoke through a mouth full of lettuce, "what's for dessert?"