*Although some have you already guessed it, parts of this story were inspired and influenced by Shaunatheboss's "Saved by My Rival" it is seriously a good story, and their writing is fantastic! They recently finished writing the prequel and are now working on a re-write and a sequel, so I recommend you read "Saved by My Rival" now even though it's rated M. There's a bit of violence at the end, and descriptions of injuries are a bit graphic, but that's it.*
The whole day had been quite long and stressful for our blue hero, and it was beginning to take its toll. After 4 servings of plain bitter salad, Sonic finally had his fill and was ready to call it a night.
He stifled a yawn, shuffling beside Eggman to the base's living quarters, wondering which of the many bedrooms was his. Daydreaming of a nice soft bed, Sonic didn't notice Eggman had stopped some distance behind him, "And where do you think you're going?" the human coughed.
Sonic paused midstep, tilting his head back, blinking from his daze. Oh, that must be where my room is. He concluded, zipping back to the human and entered the room.
Only to twirl around, confused as to why Eggman had led him to a bathroom, "Uh, gee Eggman this is a great looking bedroom!" he said sarcastically. "This is not your room," Eggman grunted, slamming the door shut behind him locking it. Sonic's ears twitched, worry bubbling up inside as he stared at the now locked door. He chuckled nervously, "Then why did you bring me here?"
"Because you reek Sonic, and I like to keep everything in my base spotless."
"Hey! I don't stink!"
"Oh, really? So you're telling me that after a day of running through one of my bases and destroying my robots, covering yourself in dirt and oil that you don't smell like a used sweaty sock covered in motor oil? When was the last time you even showered?" Sonic pressed his lips firmly in a pout, deciding he wasn't going to answer that last question. Instead, he discreetly took a whiff of himself and recoiled at the smell; he really did stink. "Alright, I guess your right." he consented, pulling off his limited amount of clothing.
Opening the shower door, he glanced back and raised a brow at Eggman. Surprised he was still in the room with him, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Though male mobians typically didn't wear a lot of clothing, still standing around gloveless and shoeless in front of his ex-enemy made Sonic feel self-conscious and vulnerable. "Uh, you can leave now. I got this."
"Nonsense Sonic-" the doctor chirped, removing his jacket and rolling up the black sleeves of his shirt, "as your new temporary guardian, it's my responsibility to not only keep you healthy but clean as well. And I realize effectively cleaning those quills of yours can be a challenge alone. Another set of hands will make the job easier."
"What?! I don't need your help! Get out! I can do this mys-"
Bzzzzzt!
"Agh!" Sonic gritted his teeth, emerald eyes burning with tears. When the shock passed, his bashfulness was cast far aside; he gave the doctor a look that would have sent the man to an early grave. That was the last straw! He had been forced to come here, leave his friends behind, endure a humiliating examination, been refused chili dogs, and now Eggman had the gall to push him in here, call him smelly, and wash him as an owner does; his collared pet!
The blue blur bristled his quills, claws drawn out and, hissed at the doctor to back away unless he wanted a quill in the face, but the large man was undeterred by the warning from the tiny hedgehog. Holding his position, Eggman shocked Sonic again. And again, and again. Each time for the blue blur's attempts of resistance.
By the end of the 6th shock, the ends of Sonic's quills were smoking, and the blue devil looked like a wilted flower, having to keep his hands planted firmly on the shower wall to stay upright. His legs were threatening to give way, weak from the electrical pulses. Eggman sighed in disappointment, watching his ex-enemy bullheadedly refuse the help he so obviously needed, "Must you be so stubborn about one simple shower?"
"Y-y-you know...how m-much I...HATE...w-w-water." Sonic twitched, "And that's why I'm giving you a shower, not a bath. But if you continue to fight me, it will be."
Sonic squeezed his eyes, trying to put everything back in focus. He would have killed to be anywhere but here at this moment; even having Shadow beat him in a race would have been better than this. He was scared. If his legs hadn't been shaking from the shocks, they would have been shaking in fear. Besides Eggman, water was his number 1 enemy, especially water outside his control. But if he fought the doctor anymore, he would be incapacitated and entirely at the doctor's mercy. And it only takes a few inches of water to drown.
Sonic hated not being able to stop the quiver in his voice as he weakly yielded, "Fine."
Having finally gotten the hedgehog's permission, Eggman proceeded. Turning on the water to an adequate temperature, he pulls the shower head down and soaks cobalt fur, turning it into a navy blue. The hero of Mobius can do nothing but whimper pitifully, keeping a wide stance and hands on the walls to stay steady. His tail tucks under him as far as it can go, with ears flat and head down, feeling the water hit him.
Once he was wetted down, Eggman squirted a dollop of shampoo into his hands and began scrubbing quills and fur. Sonic silently gasped as large hands rubbed his body; he shivered and bit his lip to keep from smiling at the scratches that felt oh so good on his back. The floor seeming to be fascinating as a blush deepened on his cheeks. "Ah-ahah! H-hey! S-stop tha-that!" he giggled, squirming against the hands that tickled his belly. "Hold on; you've got a clump of oil right there. I'm trying to get out." Sonic wiggled like a worm trying not to break out in a fit of giggles as Eggman continued to scrub the sensitive spot.
His squirming abruptly stopped when those same hands moved from there to his lower regions. He sharply gasped and flushed at the touch, not moving a muscle. Catching the sudden lack of movement, Eggman paused, "I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked worriedly, "N-no." Sonic softly squeaked, grimacing at how high his voice sounded. Not convinced, Eggman asked again, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, " Sonic cleared his throat, voice and tone returning to normal, "just caught me by surprise, is all." Nodding, Eggman resumed washing, taking care to be gentle and to give the hedgehog some warning before cleaning any other potentially sensitive areas.
After his legs were scrubbed down, Eggman rinsed the bubbles out and moved on to the fragrant conditioner. As the doctor gently combed the substance through his fur Sonic remembered that he was still wearing the collar. Guess it must be waterproof cause I'd be a roasted hedgehog by now if it wasn't. Moving on from that gruesome image, his mind wandered to how the doctor had treated him today.
Eggman had been quite kind, a stark contrast to how his interactions with the human usually went. And Sonic was starting to think the doctor's attempts to make amends with him and accept the responsibility for his actions were sincere. Going far in his quest to house and care for the supersonic hedgehog, carefully considering all of Sonic's needs and had prepared himself for the responsibility. Giving up his lifelong goal to make up for all the mistakes he had made against the blue blur. It was...astounding really to make such a life-altering decision just for one person.
Sonic's eyes widened slightly, and he felt his heart pound at the thought that the reason Eggman wanted to change was for...was for him! He shook his head. What am I thinking?! This is Egghead we're talking about! This is just another one of his schemes for me to be under his control. Sudden darkness pulls Sonic out of his thoughts. What the?
"There we go, all clean!" says a muffled voice; he scrunches his face as a towel is rubbed all around his head before it's pulled back, revealing the voice to be coming from Eggman smiling down at him. The human dries him off and leaves the towel wrapped around him like a little kid; Sonic snorts at the round man yanking the towel off, throwing it onto the floor, and crosses his arms blushing. Quickly he puts on his gloves and shoes at the same time Eggman puts his jacket back on.
Redressed, Eggman shows the clean hedgehog to his room conveniently two doors down from his own. Stepping in, Sonic sweatdropped, finding the bedroom eerily similar to his own at Tails' workshop. A passing thought of one of Eggman's drones spying on him made the skin under his fur shiver.
"I do hope you'll find yourself comfortable here. I had the room designed based on what little I knew about your tastes from our past experiences. Still, it wasn't easy since our interactions haven't been exactly-ahem-peaceful. I hope we can take this opportunity to push past our differences and get to know each other better!" Sonic scoffed at the doctor's cheery suggestion to be on friendly terms with each other; keeping his back turned, he crossed his arms, droning. "Yeah, sure. Whatever Egghead."
Hearing the harsh tone, the doctor's mustache drooped, his efforts to reach out promptly pushed away, but quickly he regained his composure. It's still early in the process. He's not going to open up and feel comfortable, let alone forgive me until I gain his trust. He'll come around eventually as time goes on. Eggman assures himself. "Well, good night Sonic. If you need anything, just push the button here by the door, and one of the service bots will assist you."
Nodding stiffly, Sonic bid the doctor good night and closed the door. With one ear pressed against the metal door, Sonic waited until Eggman's footsteps faded away before sliding down to the floor, breathing out, and put his head in his hands. "What am I gonna do? I can't leave. I can't call for Tails to come to get me. I'm screwed until this whole thing is over!" he moans.
Jerking up, he sharply slaps himself in the face. "Get a hold of yourself, Sonic! That poor pitiful me attitude isn't going to get you anywhere! You can do this. There's nothing Eggman can throw at you that you can't handle." A chill ran down his spine. "Ugh, even Eggman giving you a bath eugh!" Blushing and chuckling nervously, he shook away his embarrassment. So what am I gonna do now? He pondered, standing up, tapping his foot, scanning over the room.
Emerald eyes land on the desk, and slowly, a smile that would have rivaled the grinch's worked its way onto Sonic's muzzle along with a soft cackling. A mischievous plan forming in his mind, craking his fingers and rubbing his nose. Sonic walked up to the desk, sitting down, and started writing down some ideas. He was going to have a long and busy night.
Sonic chuckled to himself as he was putting the finishing touches on his drawing. Stepping back, he proudly looked over his latest piece of work, a crude mural of Eggman and Sonic decorated the grey wall.
The drawing described Sonic having beaten the doctor yet again in an imaginary epic battle, standing heroically over a wailing Eggman having a temper tantrum at being defeated yet again. Next to the picture were the words, "Sonik rulz Eggman drulz!" The blue hedgehog giggled at the drawing, imagining the look on Eggman's face when he would eventually find the mess he had made yet again.
Today officially marked the end of the first week of his stay at Eggman's base. Instead of checking out all the activities and entertainment rooms, Eggman had set up for Sonic during his stay. The hedgehog had spent much of his time and energy driving the human up the wall as much as he could. Besides running, eating chili dogs, and trashing Eggman's machines, elaborate pranks were his specialty.
He had spent his first night plotting and brainstorming ideas for pranks, schemes, and any other sort of mischief he could think of to irritate and annoy the doctor in the hopes that the human would grow so frustrated he would give up housing the blue devil and send him on his way.
He had egged and teepeed the doctor's room and office, clogged the human's private bathroom with knick-knacks around the base, set the kitchen on fire, replaced a delicious chocolate cake with one made of sponges, covered the floors with so much wax the service bots couldn't move 2 inches without sliding to the other side of the base. Filled the eggmobile's tank with soda, had tricked Metal into watching a cardboard cut out of himself for 10 hrs, glued Orbot and Cubot together (they were joined at the hip anyway), and had downloaded a virus onto the doctor's systems setting the base on lockdown down for 8 hrs.
That was only scratching the surface of all the problems he caused in a single day. And each act of misbehavior and defiance resulted in him getting a nasty shock from the collar Eggman had graciously gifted him.
Sonic's quills and fur were stuck in a perpetual state of disarray from the frequent shocks throughout the week. His quills looked much like a punk mohawk hairstyle often worn by rebellious teen humans. The blue devil was getting shocked so much it had gotten to the point that the doctor had to resort to other methods of punishment. Worried that the hedgehog was at risk of brain or nerve damage if he continued to light Sonic up like a Christmas tree.
So as the days went on, Sonic found himself getting shocked less and instead ending up getting lectures, cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, or did laundry, wrote apology letters, and didn't get any deserts. The latest method of punishment was a time-out. But it was all for not; Sonic's determination to have Eggman see him as nothing more than a pest that needed to be kicked out as soon as possible undeterred.
A voice booming from above startled the blue blur making him drop the permanent marker he had been using. "Sonic the Hedgehog! What on Earth are you doing this time!?"
Uh oh, I'm in trouble. Sonic cringed as Eggman marched up to the scene of the crime and roughly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, making him go limp and curl up like a kitten. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Brushing away his embarrassment at the demeaning posture Eggman had put him in, Sonic grinned innocently and squeaked, "Oh, nothing! Just drawing."
"On my wall, " Eggman added with a tight voice. "With permanent marker." he pointed to the implementation of destruction. "Yeah, looks a whole lot better, don't 'cha think?" Sonic continued to grin, watching Eggman's face wrinkle up and grow red. He imagined smoke escaping from the human's small ears.
The hedgehog lays his ears back, bracing himself for a shock to run through his neck or screaming, or even perhaps for Eggman to blowup and finally kick him out. Instead, he hears Eggman just breathing in a steady rhythm, trying to calm down. The redness in the doctor's cheeks slowly fades as he looks over the blue hedgehog dangling in front of him, debating on what he should do to punish this latest act of rebellion.
Before the human can contemplate a suitable punishment, a round red orb nearing in his peripheral catches Eggman's attention. The doctor and Sonic both turn their heads, surprised to see Orbot approaching with clasped hands, along with Cubot cautiously stopping just a few feet behind. The yellow robot glares at Sonic, still sore about being glued together with his friend the other day. The hedgehog looks everywhere but at Cubot. "Sorry to interrupt, but you just received a message from G.U.N. Agent Shadow, and his partner Agent Rouge will be here momentarily."
An exasperated sigh leaves the doctor's lips at the news. Great just what he needed, G.U.N. had the worst timing. Though he was somewhat grateful for the interruption, Eggman hated having to punish Sonic so frequently and was running out of ideas as none of them seemed to be having any effect.
Gently, he sets Sonic back on his feet and rubs his bald head, "I don't have time for this right now. Sonic, go get ready for the interviews. Orbot, make sure everything is in order, and Cubot, see if you can find a way to get this mess out; I have to go prepare as well."
"Very well, sir." the round robot bows before setting off with his partner, who gives Sonic the 'I'm watching you gesture.' the blue devil doesn't pay him any attention, instead examining his ink-stained gloves. "Don't think you're getting out of this hedgehog, " Eggman glares down at Sonic, who looks back up at the human, "I'll figure out your punishment later. Go get a fresh pair and meet me back here in 5 minutes. Do you think you can behave long enough to do that?" the human questions, "Don't expect too much." Sonic snorts disappointed his plan had not worked yet again, before dashing off.
The doctor tiredly takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, "What am I going to do with you, Sonic?" he whispers.
10 minutes later, Shadow and Rouge enter the base along with an unexpected and unwelcome by all third addition to their party. "Welcome!" Eggman greeted with a wide fake smile, "I do hope you had a pleasant journey. Would anyone care for some refreshments?"
"I could go for a good cup of coffee if you don't mind." Rouge purred, "Nothing for me, thank you." a green platypus wearing red glasses, a bowler hat, and suit declined, leering over the entrance with a look of half-hidden disgust. Shadow grunted negatively, the hog obviously not wishing to be here.
"Not, to be rude or anything..." Sonic says, leaning back in a cool position with folded arms and one leg kicked against the wall behind him. He points to the platypus, "but I thought only Shads and Rouge were going to be the ones visiting us?"
"They will be after today. Since G.U.N. is currently viewing this situation as something similar to an adoption process under their jurisdiction, they have hired my services to inspect the premises to ensure it is safe for the child being considered for adoption...I am assuming you are the child in question?" The platypus snootily informed the blue hedgehog. Sonic muttered under his breath, "Not a kid, " clearing his throat; he spoke louder, "So you're here to make sure this place is safe? Isn't that kind of stuff supposed to be done before I move in? Running kinda late, aren't ya?"
The platypus adjusted his glasses, "Yes, well, the circumstances of this situation are unusual." he gave Sonic an odd look while emphasizing that last word, "So the protocols have been adjusted to fit the circumstances."
"Unusual? Honey, there ain't nothing about big blue here that can be remotely called normal." the albino bat playfully elbows the platypus, making him blush. Sonic snickers. There wasn't a male on earth that Rouge couldn't make their face turn red as a tomato and stumble like a milk-drunk newborn calf, except for Shadow the Ultimate in keeping his emotions and expressions in check.
"Can we get this over with already?" said dark hog groans, "Of course! Shadow, Sonic. Why don't you two go ahead and get started? You can take the dining room or where ever is most comfortable-"
"Dining room is fine." Shadow cuts the doctor off, "Lead faker." pushing himself off with a smirk; Sonic leads his rival to the room requested for their interview.
"Now, is there anything I can do for, you Mr. Uh?" Eggman gestures to the duckbilled creature, "Platypus. Mr. D.B. Platypus. And yes, I will need someone to give me a tour of your...home." the aquatic creature clicks, "Right. Orbot!" Eggman calls. The red orb quickly appears by his master's side, "Yes, doctor?"
"Please give Mr. Platypus a tour of the base and answer any questions he might have. Rouge and I will be in my study if you need anything. Sonic is in the dining room with Shadow; I suggest that you not disturb them."
"Indeed." the robot languidly agrees. With that, Orbot guides the inspector through the base leaving Eggman and Rouge alone; the white bat approaches the doctor watching the robot, and Mr. Platypus leave. "Ugh, can I say how much I hate that that guy and I have similar tastes? He's such a pompous prim prissy. And has a nasty attitude to boot. How Shadow was able to hold himself back from punching his face on the ride over here, I'll never know." flexing her wings, she turns her attention to the doctor with a flirtatious smirk, "Well, looks like it's just the two of us now, doc. How 'bout that cup of coffee I was promised?"