Disclaimer: Yet again, I detail the fact I own nothing of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. ...I wonder, if I say this enough times, do I get hush money?
A/N: Thanks to the people who reviewed, by the way. The few people who reviewed. (Hint, Hint...) Anyways...Enjoy!
Negligence, Chapter Four: Suspect
Heavy boots crunched on the sand and rocks that made the desert. He could have skated over, but he loved dramatic tension sometimes. Had he skated, he would have accidentally killed a scorpion, tripped over, and looked like an idiot. The moral: Sometimes dramatic is good.
He approached the metal wreck with care, as there was jetsam obscuring the ground, and most of it was still sparking. To him, it just seemed like a broken mess, but some would call it a sign for others to stay away.
Of course, the area was secured by men with armour and guns, who were too well disciplined to be scared as such. And even if they were, their visors hid emotion well. A few guards had their guns pointed to a man that looked like a giant egg with legs.
"Stand down, men. He wouldn't dare try anything with me."
"Yes sir!" They all chorused together, backing away, but guns still pointed at the man.
"Dr. Eggman, alias Ivo Robotnik, alias Ovi Kintobor, You are hereby arrested on grounds of terrorism, fifteen counts of attempted murder, twenty-six counts of kidnapping, two hundred and forty counts of disrupting the peace and several counts of destruction of property. You have the right to remain silent if you wish, and a legal aid will be provided for you if you cannot afford one. Got it jelly-belly?"
The man, still kneeling on the ground, struggled for his voice, before saying:
"Shadow, I really missed your attempts at being the good guy."
The man looked up at the jet hedgehog, and smiled. To Shadow, it looked more like a grimace.
"Oh...Shadow, he's coming, hee hee, and he'll kill you all. Hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
"You've really lost it haven't you, Doctor...guess it must run in the family. Guards, take him to the truck, I've read this creep his rights. Sedate him too, will you?"
The blue spiky hedgehog walked around the streets, soaking in the sunset. The incident may have been over and resolved, but he couldn't help wondering why the doctor would just reappear like that. Throughout his head, he kept coming back to the question:
He did nothing for seven years, for God's sake. Why turn up now?
He kept on the train of thought but still, nothing would come to him. He knew something was up, he just needed to find out what. And the only person who would be able to make sense of his conflicting thoughts was his friend. The one with the genius level intellect. Sonic turned his body around, narrowly missing a trashcan, and sprinted along the sparse streets. A couple of seconds later, a loud boom was heard.
A finger stirred, roughly scraping against the concrete floor, and causing the owner to shake off the groggy feeling. He pushed on the ground with his arms, receiving more pain from his muscles and joints. He shook his head, standing up fully, and looking around the crater he appeared to be lying in.
"Guzzuh? Wha? Guhhh..."
He saw light forcing its way through a narrow gap in a wall, leading to the street, which was framed in a ghostly light, as the moon fell upon the pathways. He forced his body to move toward the light, focusing on walking properly, slowly getting closer to the pavement. He squeezed his body through the gap in the wall, and the rough, hardened cement scraped against his skin, tearing it, and causing it to bleed.
He inwardly winced, and planted his feet on the pavement, before swaying slowly, and falling to the ground again, unconscious.
Shadow had ordered a meeting. And when a Major of G.U.N requests a meeting, it would be stupid idea not to attend. Currently, Shadow stood in front of a holographic board, presenting all known current information to the soldiers.
"...but the most mystifying thing is, why did he suddenly try to attack now? It's almost seven years since his previous appearance."
A young recruit to the unit put up his hand, hoping not to be shouted down.
"Yes, Cruuks?"
"Major sir, maybe he wasn't trying to attack. Maybe an experiment went wrong?"
"If that is true, then the question remains: Why did he disappear in the first place?"
The men just sat there, unable to think of an answer. Shadow sighed, and dismissed them.
"Robotnik...what are you hiding?"
Sonic stood impatiently at the door, tapping his foot. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and he was always impatient when trying to get to the bottom of something.
"Tails, hurry up." He muttered to no-one but himself.
The door slid open, to reveal a yellow-brown fox standing behind it, with his arms crossed.
"What's so important? You could have just rung me on your mobile, but oh no, you had to come here while I was working on something important. I could punch you, I don't care how fast you are."
"Jeez...How are you, my favourite teenage fox?"
Tails glared darkly at Sonic. Sonic made a mental note to never annoy Tails again.
"Just tell me..."
"Fine. I kinda need help...I think the Good Doctor has something to hide."
Tails sighed, and let Sonic walk into his work shop.
"This is going to be a long night..."