AN: Sonic Underground told as if it were a drama like Downton Abbey or even a dramedy like Young Sheldon. There is no such thing as a true villain or hero in Downton Abbey. Sometimes Lady Grantham was a villainess that needed put in her place, sometimes she was a heroine. Sometimes Thomas was a jealous jerk and sometimes you just wanted to cuddle him. Even Matthew was a sort of villain sometimes. Starts when the hedgehogs are 16 and will focus on their last two years of high school.
Prologue
Julian Ivo Kintobor Robotnik was not an average man by any means. He was the only human remaining five hundred years after the last war of the humans. The nuclear fall-out from that war had given a wide variety of animals an altered appearance, greater intelligence, and sentience. The few humans remaining were forced to procreate with those animals, creating the Mobian. Very few humans insisted on being traditional at that point.
Julian's ancestors had been among those few. However, soon after the city of Mobotropolis cropped up a few hundred years later, the Mobians of that city developed a great hatred for humans. This hatred was encouraged by the royal family who outlawed humans and proceeded to have them executed. Until finally only Julian and his grandfather remained.
Julian proved to be extremely intelligent, testing at a three hundred intelligence quotient. When he and his grandfather were finally brought in to be executed for the crime of being human, the patriarch of the wealthiest and second most powerful family in the kingdom, the Montclairs of Dresden, used that as justification to buy his freedom. They were not able to save his grandfather, but they were able to give him a home, raising him alongside their son and daughter, Albern and Maria Montclair.
He grew up hating the royal family for what they did to his family. But he was grateful to the Montclairs and he came to consider like a brother while he fell in love with the beautiful Maria. He didn't care that she was a mink. His ancestors may have resisted the need to take a mobian but he didn't have that luxury. As beautiful and wonderful as she was, he wouldn't want it anyway. Her father was more than happy to allow Robotnik to court his daughter. Eventually, he and Albern were best men at each other's weddings. Albern's chosen was another mink by the name of Delilah. Not even a year after their wedding, Robotnik had the pleasure of delivering Albern's first child, a son called Bartleby. It was a touchy delivery as Bartleby was breached but when he held that baby in his arms, he felt such pride.
However, the royal family was not happy about Robotnik marrying Maria. King Jules and his brother cruelly began provoking the lower classes until at last, it erupted in a massive attack on the Dresden Estates. The home was ransacked and Julian was forced to flee with Bartleby and a pregnant Maria. He was heartbroken at not being able to save his best friend but resolved to raise Bartleby knowing their love. And he took comfort in knowing soon he'd have a child of his own by his dear wife. Fortunately, King Maximilian Acorn was willing to give them a home.
But it was not to be. The escape from the city had been too much for the mink. The baby came too soon and later that night, eclampsia claimed Maria's life as well. Robotnik was forced to bury his wife and child together on borrowed land. All he had left was Bartleby. The grief of losing so much in such a short amount of time finally took its toll on the man's sanity and he vowed revenge on the ones who had robbed him of his happiness. He devoted the next couple of years to his robotics project, creating the prototype for a robotic soldier that never needed to eat or sleep.
He secretly returned to Mobotropolis with a two-year-old Bartleby, presenting the boy to the aristocracy who welcomed them home. The murder of the Montclair heir and his wife were too much for them to accept. It didn't help that the kingdom was now in a famine. The royal family insisted on making agriculture their primary export but the land was now overfarmed and was no longer able to grow crops.
The nobles attempted to plea to Queen Aleena Ericius for her to allow them to make use of the land's wealth of other resources instead but to no avail. She insisted that nature and magic would save their land. However, Robotnik brought a liquid fertilizer and a small machine capable of tilling down deep into the soil, turning it once against soft while the fertilizer restored nutrients for growing food. They eagerly gave him money to fund more projects. He returned their generosity with robots and machines of all sorts to make their lives better. His last great invention was a machine capable of transforming one into a robot. It had the unfortunate side effect of robbing one of their consciousness making it an ideal form of punishment for criminals. A smaller version was used to replace amputations.
At last, he had what he needed to march on the palace with his SwatBots. He killed the king and ran the hedgehog queen from the capital city and into hiding with her three newborn triplets. The aristocracy supported his rise to power.
Robotnik became a fearsome, almost tyrannical ruler, at least in the eyes of those in the lower classes. Under Aleena, they did not have to pay any taxes and were entitled to all manner of free food and such. Robotnik removed these entitlements and declared all must work, citing an ancient admonition that one who does not work, does not eat. The roboticizer was used on the hardest criminals as well as those who refused to support themselves and their families.
In retaliation, a small faction of rebels began cropping up. They bombed his factories and harassed those who refused to serve the deposed queen. Even those who desired neutrality were not immune. His laws had to become far more strict to try and isolate the rebels.
However, he did his best to be a surrogate father to the young Bartleby. He surrounded him with other nobles. The recently widowed Virginia Wyndemere became the perfect surrogate mother. When she adopted a female hedgehog kit that she found outside her door, they came to an agreement that they would allow their children to grow up together as friends. Robotnik recognized the baby princess and felt it a suitable irony. It angered him that Aleena would abandon her children. When the Oracle informed him of the prophecy, it angered him even further. She had abandoned them to use them as weapons to dethrone him. At least he had the princess within his influence.
He devoted a good portion of her early years searching for her brothers. Her middle brother was found living with a woodcutter and his wife in the forest. However, he was too late to save the child from being abducted by the resistance that was slowly growing bigger. He had a strong feeling the queen or even her brother-in-law, Sir Charles Hedgehog was involved and the Canis' confirmed that the old hedgehog had been spending a lot of time with them.
Eventually, he had to end his search as the bombings became more intense and he had to focus on protecting the innocent people threatened. He became entrenched in the task that he was not able to spend as much time with his nephew as he would have liked. He rebuilt the Montclair Mansion and established that as his home as he entered adolescence. Robotnik longed for the simpler days when he could take Bartleby camping or out on the fishing boat. He missed being able to comfort the boy when he had a nightmare, being able to read with the boy or even have a meal together regularly. He missed spending time with him.
Sonia Hedgehog-Wyndemere's life was good. She was abandoned at a young age to the good, kind Baroness Virginia Wyndemere. The woman had been recently widowed and desperate for comfort so when Sonia appeared on her doorstep she immediately made the decision to adopt her as her own.
Sonia grew up going to the best schools. When her intelligence quotient tested at one hundred and fifty and she ended up getting bored with the curriculum, she was invited to attend Robotropolis University.
As a child, she was introduced to Bartleby Montclair, Lord of Dresden. They became fast friends and they did everything together. He would watch her practice her piano playing and she would help him with his political science courses that his godfather demanded he take. They couldn't go out much as his godfather was always so concerned for his safety, though neither of them quite knew why. Thus much of their time together was spent under his watchful eye, even and that of her mother.
As they grew up, the connection they felt blossomed into love. She could not imagine a life without him there. She didn't care what danger he may or may not be in. She didn't care that sometimes he was a little self-centered. He always sacrificed where she was concerned and she figured she could just be more generous to offset it.
On her sixteenth birthday, he had a grand dinner made for her. He wore his late father's blue military uniform and brushed his hair into a neat ponytail. Tonight was the night.
When she knocked on the door, he wasted no time welcoming her into his arms with a passionate kiss. "Oh, my darling, happy birthday."
Sonia giggled. "My Sweet Bartleby." She returned his kiss as he led her to the dining room table. Two covered plates sat atop a raspberry pink table cloth. Two flowers, a pink rose, and a purple tulip sat in a thin vase. The only light came from two candles. "It's beautiful my love."
He chuckled as they ate their meal of her favorite Beef Wellington with fingerling potatoes and Caesar salad. He couldn't stop looking at her as they fed each other. He beamed at her as the footman brought them each a smaller platter with their dessert under it. "You know, I went to see my godfather today… to get something from him… after talking to your mother of course…"
Sonia reached over to take his hand. "You're rambling, Bartleby… I love you. Say whatever it is you want to say…"
The blonde mink nodded as he blushed. "My Sonia, my dear Sonia." He reached his hand up to stroke her fuschia cheek, marveling at how velvety smooth it was. "I've known you forever… I remember the first time we met. I knew then that my heart was yours. I'm so glad my godfather encouraged us to be together. But I… I want to tell the world now… To tell the whole world how much I love you and I want to spend my entire life showing you how much I love you."
Sonia felt tears in her eyes as it felt as though her heart would burst from her chest. "Bartleby, Yes… Yes… that's what I want too. I want to be your wife and tell the world how great you are. Yes." She kissed him as he pulled the lid off her small plate. Under the lid, sitting on top of a slice of creamy, glistening red strawberry meringue pie was a rose gold ring with a large round diamond in the middle of a circle of alternating teardrop diamonds and rubies. "It's beautiful, Bartleby. It's beautiful."
He put the ring on the appropriate finger and smiled. "Godfather said the ring was my mother's. I've been waiting for this. Your mother said we need to wait until you're eighteen but… this way, we have two years to plan. I know you're my destiny." He pet her hair. "In fact, let's set the date."
She giggled. "Exactly two years from now, March fourth. Then you'll never forget it or my birthday." She sighed happily as she laid her head on his chest.
However, a few months later…
She had been acting so strangely that day, playing him a new song that she came up with out of nowhere. "Someday, we are gonna be together, life will be so much better…" Of course, they will but he had a strange feeling, she wasn't talking about him and her.
"My love…" He asked as she put down her keyboard and sat, putting a hand to her head. "Are you alright?"
Sonia nodded. "Yeah, I just had a really strange sensation… All of a sudden… it feels like there's… something missing…"
He stroked her hair. "Do you think it has to do with your dreams lately? You said you've had dreams of a hedgehog female and two others."
Sonia nodded. "I know I'm dreaming of my birth mother… It's my eidetic memory, I'm sure." She moaned.
Bartleby hugged his fiancé. "It's alright my love. I will find your birth mother for you. And those other two. If they exist. I promise."
She smiled at him. "You know… let's go out tonight. You and me. It's been forever since we've gotten to dance. I have heard of this great club in the lower districts. It's supposed to be amazing."
That's where it all went crazy. On the way, her medallion gave a strange glow and pulled her into the aforementioned club. He knew that medallion had something to do with her strange behavior. When she heard music that he couldn't, he knew he would have to talk to his godfather.
Then, there, on the stage of the club were two other hedgehogs; one with blue fur and the other green. The blue one played a triangular yellow guitar while the green played the drums.
"You guys are great!" Sonia said excitedly as she went to join them.
Bartleby watched her play with the two strange hedgehogs. He smiled as they seemed to just click. He saw a smile on her face as some of the burden eased. Perhaps she just needed a break from planning their wedding. Or perhaps she had found what was missing.
After the three finished playing, Sonia held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Baronet Sonia Hedgehog-Wyndemere."
The blue hedgehog shook it. "I'm Sonic Hedgehog. Just Hedgehog, no fancy titles."
"And I'm Manic, it's good to meet you. Hey, you both have medallions too." He said, gesturing to the glinting silver jewelry.
Sonic shrugged. "That makes sense actually. I just learned I have a brother and a sister and I'm looking for them."
Sonia smiled. "Then I think you have found them." Her eyes went to her fiancé. Excitedly, she led them to his table. A waitress stopped. "Yes, I'll have a glass of the house Chardonnay. Sonic, Manic, order what you want, it's on me. Special occasion."
Bartleby laughed. "Wrong my darling, it's on me. I think it only right."
Sonia gestured to her lover. "This is Bartleby, he is my betrothed." She explained. "We just got engaged."
Sonic and Manic gaped. "Bartleby? As in Montclair? The richest guy in the kingdom? As in…"
"Robotnik's nephew, yes, that would be me." He quickly preempted any nasty comments about the man.
The two hedgehogs carefully controlled their reactions. "So you know… him personally." Sonic stammered, clearly nervous.
"What's that like? I mean what's he like?" Manic asked. "Up close and such. My mates back home all say he's really mean and scary but I also know little kids have no issues sneaking into the palace and stealing food."
The two laughed while Bartleby nodded. "Doesn't surprise me. He doesn't coddle people, he has no problem punishing those who break the laws and he deals harshly to discourage further law-breaking but if he didn't… I really don't think you'd like Robotropolis much."
Sonia nodded. "But when he doesn't have a reason to be fearsome, he's actually really nice. But come on, we just met, forget Uncle for a bit. Tell us about yourselves. This is so great…"
Sonic nodded. "Well, I grew up with my Uncle Chuck. Our Uncle Chuck. He… um… helped me to train my speed… I… I run track." He lied.
Manic nodded. "And… and you… you know my dad…" He told Bartleby. "You let him steal that Faberge egg for my birthday last year. "
Sonia cooed. "Awww Bartleby, you're such a sweetheart." She kissed his cheek, making the mink's turn bright pink.
"That was for you. I caught him and he said he just wanted to give his son something pretty because your home was so bleak. I didn't know it was for you." Bartleby said with a grin. "I'm glad you like it. I wish he had stayed a few moments, I was going to offer him a job and a home for you both."
Manic nodded while Sonic cocked his head. "And what do you?" He asked with a little uncertainty in his eyes.
Bartleby found himself curious about the blue hedgehog. His eyes darted hither and thither as if afraid that something was going to happen. His fur and spikes seemed to be perpetually pointed tightly upward. "I'm actually in training to follow in Uncle's footsteps."
Sonic's lips pursed at that but he forced a neutral expression. "Oh… interesting… very interesting. Sonia? What do you do?"
Sonia smiled. "Well, I like to sing and play the piano. I help Bartleby with his lessons and I design software. And I do gymnastics and work on my bike."
The blue hedgehog nodded as he stood up. "Well, I better go. My uncle will be looking for me soon. I don't want him to worry. You should come with me, Sonia, Manic…"
Sonia shook her head. "No, we need to get home too. Uncle doesn't really like Bartleby out and about too much. But come for dinner in the evening. I know Mother will want to meet you both. I bet she asks you and your guardians to live with us. Our house is huge."
Bartleby nodded as he paid their bill, leaving a generous tip, and stood. "I know she will. If she doesn't, then I open my own home to you both and your guardians."
Sonic nodded anxiously. "You'll come back with me, right Manic? He's your Uncle Chuck too."
The green hedgehog shook his head. "I gotta get back too. I kind of left my dad hanging. He'll be worried about me."
Bartleby smiled. "Tell him about the job offer at least and we will see you for dinner." He wanted to meet this Uncle Chuck. He had a strange feeling as he discreetly examined his future brother-in-law but he couldn't put his finger on it.
AN: My brain is seriously taking the original plot of Sonic Underground and expanding it.