Meant to be a one-shot. Robotnik is back, and he has Tom. Sonic has trouble controlling his emotions. I like the Three Days Grace song, but Jonathan Young's version has more emotion behind it. Either way, check them out. Please read and review. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Heh.

Plop. Plop. Plop. Drop by drop plopped onto the metal floor. The metal floor was cold. The metal bench was cold. The air around him was cold. The floor was colder than the bench. The air was colder than the bench. The air was colder than both the floor and the bench.

At least, Tom assumed it was cold. Most metal floors were cold. The air tended to be cool unless humidity stole it. And it gave him something else to think about besides being chilled (and his blood dripping). So what if he was talking like a children's book? He lost count of how many See Bob Run books he had read to Sonic to help him get to sleep. It would only work if he did it exactly how Sonic wanted: every male character had to be renamed 'Donut Lord' and every female character 'Pretzel Lady'. But it was worth it to get the kid to sleep.

He missed the kid. Oh, how he missed the kid. He missed Maddie too, but he knew she was safe. Sonic was another story. Since the last time Robotnik had tried blowing them all up, he had come up with an evacuation plan in case the evil doctor ever came back. Which was inevitable, since Robotnik had technically been warped to another dimension still alive and pissed off (possibly). Sonic was still Sonic and being hyperactive and asking questions and running around everywhere. He wouldn't have wanted the kid to try to hide anyways. One, all superhero movies said it was a bad idea. Two, his heart still hurt at the mere thought that Sonic had spent ten years of his life alone. He would not continue that deprivation, even if it had raised a lot of eyebrows at Green Hills. At the same time, he hoped that the kid was all right. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd been captured, but it felt like forever.

He then heard a creak of the hinges, and looked up to see a Comic Con castoff standing in front of him. Speaking of a certain someone being possibly pissed off...

"Good evening, Wachowski," Robotnik sneered. "I hope you're up to another evening of witty banter with an unbelievably smart, cunning, and sophisticated doctor?" He felt his lips twitch into a smile. Caution caused his hands and forearms to tense; since the shackles had been introduced, he had been surprised to a new frequency of electric shocks and jolts, seemingly random.

"Pass. I'm already running late to my dinner date with a certain blue devil," he sneered. "Hhhnnnnghh," his voice caught before he could spit out another sentence of amazing dialogue. The electric shock had been sudden in enveloping his whole body. As a result, he could hardly breathe. Choosing breathing over looking good, he allowed gravity to take him.

"I'm sorry, Sheriff," Robotnik sneered at him. "I'm afraid I'm the only company you'll be expecting tonight." His own heavy breathing seemed to be too loud in the cell, inviting another shock.

/On the ground I lay
Motionless in pain
I can see my life flashing before my eyes
Did I fall asleep
Is this all a dream?
Wake me up
I'm living a nightmare/

He really wished he was waking up from his colonoscopy right now. He had only one, but he remembered every detail. Maddie had told him that she wanted him to have it done just in case. He loved her, so he did it – and made sure to schedule the next one at least a decade down the road. His adventure with Sonic might have started out bad as well, but unlike the procedure it led to him having what he and Maddie had always talked about: a family. They had decided to initially wait on kids until Tom determined whether or not he could get into San Francisco police department. When those plans had changed, and they found themselves the parents of one blue speed demon, they had found themselves discussing whether they should have a kid or two of their own.

Hopefully he could be there to find out. Hopefully Sonic wouldn't take the news too hard if it was true. It wasn't about replacing him. It was about adding more to their family.

/I will not die (I will not die)
I will survive

I will not die I'll wait here for you/

"Tell me where to find that blasted hedgehog!" Robotnik hissed.

"Now where's the fun in that? You're supposed to be the smart one," Tom quipped back. "Oh wait – I did punch you four times." The next shock almost caused him to see stars.

/I feel alive when you're beside me
I will not die I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

"What's the point of protecting this alien creature when it's obvious he's abandoned you?" Robotnik laughed cruelly.

"Because," Tom said between labored breaths, "he has no one else. You said it yourself: you're an orphan. I'm sure you of all people can understand."

When he came to, a familiar pain in his side told him that he had at least one cracked rib and perhaps some internal bleeding to follow. It was worth the pain.

/On this bed I lay
Losing everything
I can see my life passing me by/

He lost count of how long he had been trapped here. Meals were rare, torture was common, and he didn't have the usual markers to indicate day's passing. At least he had his memories of growing up, of Green Hills, of Maddie, and of Sonic. As well as a morbidly useful rock song he remembered – Sonic loved rock the most, and though he'd never admit it, he'd listen to Sonic's music as it played. HE professed to love country, though, and could never admit that there was some rock music he liked. Blame his upbringing (Green Hills, dad, Montana) all you like – country music was his staple. Rock sounded too angry for him, even including the two or three songs that he would never admit to liking.

/Was it all too much
Or just not enough?/

The sound of metal scraping the floor was what woke him. You couldn't blame him for catching up on his beauty rest – even as sheriff the townspeople were more forgiving in their demands than Robotnik was. Slowly Tom painstakingly opened his eyes, first from slits to fully open in several agonizing beats. The light was not on too bright in his cell (again), and he did not spot any of Robotnik's droids hanging around (again). He stayed perfectly still, scanning every inch of his cell until he realized that what he had heard came from outside his cell. Joy filled him as his eyes came to rest on a single individual, as he recognized the familiar, spiky shadow that stood outside his cell.

"Sonic?" His voice echoed more than he thought it would, but he didn't care. He was finally getting out! "Sonic, I can't believe you found me! I'm so glad you –"

The quiet was so unlike Sonic. The head was tilting up too slow for it to be Sonic. The blue shine that he saw in the dim hallway lights was not of blue fur, but of painted metal. Ruby red eyes flickered on, boring into his own, too human eyes, and he realized with a fresh surge of terror that Robotnik wasn't done with him yet.

/Wake me up
I'm living a nightmare/

He had to be in the Twilight Zone. The bot sounded like Sonic. It moved… fast, but not quite Sonic fast. It would beat him on the crazy doctor's command, and then stand in close to see if he reacted to the closeness in a negative way. He must be the guest of honor, seeing the doctor's new toy up close and personal. Robotnik apparently had a one-track mind when it came to how to torture his prisoner. Bots. Why did it have to be bots?

"As you can see, Tom," he heard Robotnik sneer as he struggled to regain his breath from their current session, "I have made a perfect robot replica of your friend. He is perfect in every single way. He will find your friend and defeat him and become a newer, better Sonic. Autopsies reveal much more than what we see on the surface after all. Surely you see that sooner or later, Sonic will be mine." Tom chuckled, which helped to distract from the flash of anger at the word autopsy. Sonic wasn't going to be anyone's science experiment.

"Your machine may look and act like Sonic, doc, but it's not Sonic, and it won't ever be Sonic." He saw Eggman tilt his head to one side.

"Enlighten me." Tom spit out the gathering saliva and blood from his mouth before answering, weighing every word before hurling it all together into the doctor's face.

"When it comes down to a machine versus the real thing, the real thing always wins. Sonic is the only one who has a heart."

It was funny how the next half-a-dozen punches never had to be directly ordered from the bot.

/I will not die (I will not die)
I will survive

I will not die I'll wait here for you
I feel alive when you're beside me/

Adopting the little blue hedgehog had been the best decision Maddie and he had made. They had to be careful about the process; apparently Child and Family Services hated it when you tried to adopt a kid that they never knew existed. That meant formal paperwork couldn't be submitted, but he forged a set of papers for their own use as well as a birth certificate. Abuse of power? Yeah, but to see the look on Sonic's face when they presented him with the gifts at his first birthday with them was worth everything.

It was worth being stuck here watching Robotnik grind his wheels and spin around. Yeah, he'd want to get checked out by a doctor after this, but bruises, cracked ribs, etc. heal fast, whatever Maddie had to say. Robotnik was frustrated and annoyed, and that meant that Sonic was alive and unharmed. Tom would take that over any beating he'd be getting.

Speaking of beatings, he could hear footsteps come down the corridor now…

/I will not die; I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

"If I can't get Sonic's attention the old-fashioned way," Robotnik drawled. "I will just have to resort to cruder methods." Tom struggled against the hold the metal Sonic had on him. He'd tried punching the good doctor when he came in the cell; however, the stupid robot had to catch him and clamp down on his wrists. That hurt. Then he had been thrown to the floor on his back, only to be rolled over into a seated position with his arms clamped behind his back. That also hurt, and this still hurt now. Not that he liked getting beat up, but at least that was momentary pain versus continued pain. This sucked.

"You know you're desperate when you're trying to send Sonic a message," he taunted, not willing to let Robotnik see the worry he felt. "For a kid who can practically travel at lightspeed, he's too fast for you. You won't know where to send it, or how to reach him."

"Thing is," Robotnik sneered at him, "I'm never wrong. You can note the lack of surprise on my face later when Sonic shows up for you, only to fall into my little trap." He turned and waved cheerily at the floating bot behind him. "Come, come! We must get recording!"

Insert stupid bad guy dialogue here about how he was going to kill Tom (he wasn't) if Sonic didn't show up (which he wouldn't), theatrics because Robotnik was just that kind of weird, and something something world domination. He vaguely heard the doctor whisper in his ear. Oh, now he wanted Tom to say something? Idiot. He spit at the doctor, only to have the metal Sonic grab his mouth in one hand and push down on his injured knee with the other. Hissing escaped his mouth as fresh pain waved on in. Well, if they wanted him to say something that badly, they could have said please. Seriously, manners were going by the wayside these days. He had to be the responsible adult here.

"Sonic, don't worry about me." Actually, that came out all mumbled and garbled, due to the metal clamp around his mouth. He glared up at Eggman. After a moment, it loosened. He refocused on the camera drone and tried again. "Sonic, just keep an eye on everyone back in Green Hills. As you can see, I've got an unexpected dinner date with Eggman here, so I'll be running a little late." He tried to wink, but wasn't sure it came across given how worked over his face was. "I'll be seeing you, son."

The drone was replaced by an angry doctor. "What did you mean by that?" Eggman was yelling. Tom was confused.

"By what?"

"That – that word!" the doctor seethed, obviously ready to restart the torture. Then Tom remembered his earlier insult, and understood.

"I meant to say soon, Eggman," he smirked. "But you know about us Montanans and our accents. Oh that's right – you wouldn't, since you never had a home to begin with."

Who knew Metal Sonic's exoskeleton could fire up with electricity? Hopefully Maddie could get antibacterial ointment in bulk. This was going to sting for a while.

/I will not die I'll wait here for you
I feel alive when you're beside me
I will not die; I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

He noted the lack of surprise on Eggman's face. Crap. Sonic was here, and he had just plowed through dozens of bots, scattering the last of their pieces just beyond their immediate reach. The metal Sonic kept Tom held back, which was probably more for Tom's safety than anything. The doctor didn't want Tom punching him again (which would have been punch number five, if he was released). The hedgehog was strangely quiet for once. That worried him.

"Well, well well! We meet again, Sonic!" The doctor crowed. "I hope you understood the first part of the message, the part where I said I'm going to win at all costs no matter the price, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah. You're going to make another fine experiment for me to investigate. Finally."

"Sonic," Tom strained his vocal chords to get the words out. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to get you to fight his creepy robot version of you. Get out of here!" There was no answer. There wasn't a peep from his blue boy. His blue boy wasn't even blue anymore. Quills and hair had turned an unnatural shade of dark bluish-black, and the same color permeated the electric sparks emanating from the hedgehog. Eyes were still green, thankfully, although far more serious than he would have thought possible.

"I can't let you get hurt for me, Tom. Not again." Was he hearing things, or did Sonic's voice change? The kid looked torn between being unnaturally angry and bawling his eyes out (which, if situations were reversed, he'd probably be in the same boat). Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the metal Sonic pause, only to fly forward, and at the same time his arms fell slack against his side.

"Sonic! Watch out!" Tom yelled.

The cackle that emanated from his kid's lips as he gave his metal counterpart the butt-kicking of a lifetime scared Tom more than he let on. Freedom was to be had mere seconds later, if a downed and groaning Robotnik and a countdown to self-destructing lab were any indicators. Sonic reappeared in front of him, all natural color returned back to him.

"Dad?" Tom opened his arms in response, and he was met with one crying and prickly hedgehog. If his eyes were wet at all, it was due to the relief at being rescued.

/I will not die I'll wait here for you
I feel alive when you're beside me
I will not die I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

... He could always ask about the odd color and strange behavior another day.