Chapter 5: Investigation

Inside a facility hidden deep within the mountains, the lone and overweight mad scientist was beginning to wonder if always staying hidden like this was still working, and that it was time to change tactics. Simply sending robots out every now and then didn't seem to do much good. He could only build so much of those. Besides, that was not the only weapon he had here…and I may finally be able to use them.

Robotnik shifted his thoughts to that of Sonic the Hedgehog. That rodent and his friends Tails and Knuckles had really been the sole obstacle to his goal since the beginning: to conquer as much of Mobius as possible, starting with the Old portion first. He shook his head as he thought about how they most likely felt so heroic and morally upstanding to oppose him every time. If only they knew, he thought bitterly. These people are getting exactly what they deserve.

Seated on a leather chair in front of various computer screens showing the views from the few scout robots he had outside, Robotnik laid out his latest prizes on the desk, grinning. The blue, red and golden Chaos Emeralds lit up the otherwise dark chamber he was in with their shining colors, ironically the same as the fur of his arch-nemeses. "Henceforth, I will be the only one to ever laugh on all of planet Mobius!" He declared to himself out loud before letting out, of course, a powerful, unpleasant laugh, as if that were true already.

His laughing was interrupted rudely as one of the monitors on the wall began buzzing. Regaining his composure, a slightly irritated Robotnik glanced at the one doing it. He was taken aback by what he saw. It had been a while since that happened. And even longer since this did.

The screen indicated that the scout robot was looking at what Robotnik thought he would never see again. He put aside all thoughts of defeating Sonic for a moment. This was a very interesting development indeed.

"Hey!" Alan Doherty called out as he stood in front of the small hovering scoutbot, facing into what he hoped was its optics. He had his armor and all of his equipment on him, with one change: the letters 'FBI' on the back had been scraped off, and in such a way that it would not be possible to tell it had ever been there.

Doherty had arrived here on foot, on a meadow in front of various mountains, after being informed that this place had a number of scoutbots patrolling the area, making it his best shot at finding a possible nearby location where Robotnik was hiding. He was quite thankful that the sunset was cooling and windy.

"Hey!" he called again, pretending to panic. "I saw your face on one of your robots. I'm sure damn glad to see another human here! That blue, uh, talking animal with spikes that can run super fast is hunting me down, and I barely managed to hide from him and his friends, you gotta help me out! They're going to take me away again, damn it, unless you help me! Please! I don't know how the hell I even came here, and they won't listen to me. Could you let me lie low where you are?"

On the other end of the line, Robotnik was considering the man's words, unsure what to make of them. Could they be true? Was it in Sonic's nature to do this kind of thing? He seriously couldn't tell. Had it been the other mobians mentioned instead, it would be much more likely.

But what he was more conflicted about was the man's request to be allowed to stay in his lair. Robotnik himself was literally the only person on the planet to know its location. Was it a good idea to change that?

"Look," Alan continued, sensing the doubt after getting no response. He made himself sound a bit calmer. "A guy like you is probably hiding in a secret area, and I don't blame you if you don't really feel like sharing it. But even if I meet you, what use do I have killing you? Only you can operate these robots, right? Without them, I might as well go back and dance in front of those people. And besides, I don't think they're gonna tell me how to get back to Earth, so I can only come to you for that. You must have come here because of that weird glowing gemstone anyway, so you have to know how. Please. Otherwise you can just blow me up right here. I saw what that supersonic hedgehog can do to your robots. If I had no choice, I would prefer it your way than his." Doherty stepped closer to the robot, putting on as much desperation as possible on his expression. "Please."

Robotnik simply stood there in his chamber stroking his chin. Looking closely, he could see that this guy was a soldier of some sort. That could prove useful. In any case, it was better to have a grunt with a gun on his side rather than Sonic's. Best to take him in and see what use he could provide, even if Robotnik didn't exactly have vacant sidekick positions to fill. In the worst case scenario, he could always have the man thrown out…or be forced to do what the others who didn't willingly come to him did.

After several seconds, the scoutbot finally made a whirring sound as it turned around and began hovering away slowly. Doherty watched it, wondering if it was motioning for him to follow. This model of scoutbot did not appear to have any monitors or speakers for direct communication.

When the robot turned around again to look at Alan, as if to check whether he was coming, he made up his mind. As Alan started moving, so did the robot as it turned away and hovered towards the mountain range.

It had been a while since Alan had to climb mountains, especially with no real safety gear. He managed nevertheless, and it was helped by the fact that it wasn't very steep or high. If he wasn't careful though, he could still end up cutting himself into pieces on some of the sharper rocks on the lower levels. As he struggled to grab onto ledges here and there, the scoutbot simply hovered over everything, occasionally turning around to look at Alan as if to mock him.

Almost an hour later, Alan finally climbed onto a flat surface near the top. He followed the bot into a small cave. For a moment, it looked as if it were a dead end. The bot stood in front of the wall, or the most vertical and smooth part thereof, opposite the entrance. Seconds later, the surface slid open to the side mechanically, revealing a large opening into…something. I knew it.

Alan continued following the robot as it went through a tunnel that was very much not natural. All of its surfaces were of metal and steel, looking rather aged with uneven colors, dents, marks and scratches. They were still clean though, even if not completely pristine. Robotnik obviously must have been taking care of this place, and was most definitely nearby.

The tunnel was barely lit up by its weak ceiling lights. The robot entered the only door at the end, and when Alan entered through it as well, he saw he was in a narrow, rectangular room, also not well lit, with glass windows on both sides. Behind the windows were what appeared to be offices, but there was no one in them.

Alan was beginning to feel somewhat unsettled. Was this supposed to be a security checkpoint? There were supposed to be people behind these windows, these desks. Robotnik was known to work alone, as far as anyone knew. Why would he design a place that required human, or rather mobian, supervision?

Unless he didn't. Robotnik's technology was mostly stolen in the first place, after all. Could this whole place simply be part of it? The internet had been admirably vague about precisely what technology Robotnik had stolen last time other than robots. For whatever reason, Extro had decided building a facility here in Old Mobian territory was strategic for them. Must have been quite a war they were preparing for back then, though it most certainly wasn't one including Robotnik.

Through the next door Alan found himself in a completely dark room with no illumination. He was unable to see where the robot was, as it had no lights turned on.

For a moment Alan feared the worst to come out of the darkness. Just because he was a human didn't mean Robotnik would immediately trust him. He wasn't meant to know where this place was. Something was definitely going to happen. To him. Remembering what he brought, he brought out his rifle to activate its mounted tactical flashlight.

As he did that, it was not the only light to turn on. A much larger one that made up the whole ceiling suddenly bathed the room in stark whiteness, causing Alan to shut his eyes reflexively. He reopened them as soon as possible, weapon raised, fully expecting to see a threat in front of, or around him.

Instead, there wasn't anything. The room was now revealed to be somewhat large in square area, with a plain steel floor, a glass wall dividing it into half to Alan's right after he entered it. On the opposite wall were two metal doors, one on the side Alan was in, another in the other half.

Other than that, there really was nothing. Even the robot earlier had disappeared. Both sides of the room were clear of any objects and persons except Alan himself.

At least until the door on the other side suddenly opened, which Alan could see but not hear. The glass was soundproof and possibly bulletproof as well. If whatever was entering was a threat, he might not be able to shoot it. Nevertheless, he raised his rifle at the figure that came through…

Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik stepped calmly into the room. Unlike Doherty, he had nothing to fear. The fat mad scientist walked up to the glass to see the first human he had ever seen since he came here. On the opposite side, Alan was still aiming his rifle, even though he knew it was pointless.

Grinning, Robotnik snapped his fingers, causing the glass between him and Alan to shift itself slightly, though it was hard to tell exactly how. Once that was done…

"Oh, put that thing down and quit being so nervous," Robotnik began, his tone slightly amused and condescending. "If I wanted you dead I wouldn't have let you come all the way in here. I have better things to do, you know." His General American-accented voice could be heard clearly through the glass, unlike the door earlier. The glass shifting must have allowed sound through somehow.

Realizing he was probably right, Alan lowered his weapon and put on the safety. He looked at the mad scientist and realized Sonic was right. He really did look like a human egg on legs, dressed in a red elaborate coat with jet black trousers and shoes. His baldness only helped with the resemblance. The most unnaturally fat person he had ever seen. Of course, laughing about that in his mustached face right here was probably not a good idea.

"Yes, I know you are thinking about my looks and weight," Robotnik spoke up, eyebrows raised over his sunglasses. He obviously wasn't that stupid. "And no, I do not appreciate jokes about it. Sonic has made enough of that about me." He cringed angrily. "Grrh, just thinking about it, it makes me want to-"

"Wait, wait, who's Sonic?" Alan asked, playing dumb and not wanting to waste his own time hearing rants. "Is it that blue spiky guy who runs extremely fast?"

Robotnik quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, my apologies. Just a little…pet peeve of mine. And yes, that is him. Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius…or so they say."

"This planet's called Mobius huh? Anyway…what's up with him and his friends? I didn't do a damn thing. What did you do to piss him off?"

"Hey," Robotnik snapped, "I didn't say you could ask me questions first."

Damn. "Alright, alright, sorry, you're the boss here. I, uh, I guess I should first thank you first for letting me in here." He wondered if that was the only true thing he would say here. "Alan Doherty."

"Doctor Ivo Robotnik," the fat scientist introduced himself, enunciating every syllable overdramatically, "And no, you may not call me anything else other than that, except maybe 'boss'. Oh, and you're welcome," he hastily added.

"If you didn't let me come here I really don't know what I could have done. I wasn't exactly trained to deal with the Justice League out there."

"What happened between you and them?"

"I got teleported to this place with the glowing gem in my hand, confused and freaked the crap out of me. Then I saw Sonic and his flying friend fighting some robots, which had your face on them. After they destroyed them, they saw me and tackled me down before I could even open my mouth. Literally. Jesus, they were fast. They saw I had the gem, and they accused me of working for you, and they wouldn't hear what I had to say at all. Sonic and a whole gang of his furry friends from a nearby town locked me up, but fortunately their security was really pathetic for what they obviously considered dangerous. They didn't even have Sonic stay to watch me, and I thanked God very much when it was clear no one else ran as fast as him after I broke out and took my stuff back."

Robotnik crossed his arms. He was silent for a while as he considered the story.

Come on, come on…

"Yes, absolutely nothing less than what I expect from them. Nice to see you got out."

Whew. "Without Sonic, they seem like all bark and no bite. Okay, maybe some actually did try to bite me. Savage freaks. But not that difficult to deal with."

"Where exactly did you learn to do that? What do you work as?"

Alan was prepared for that question. "Well, some would probably call me a mercenary. Maybe an assassin, even."

"So as long as people pay you, you don't care who's in your sights?"

A shrug. "Usually. And if I may, I sense an opportunity already."

"Hmm?"

"Alright, first off, you came here the same way I did, right? That weird glowing emerald."

Robotnik was silent for a moment. His face showed no emotion. "Yes, exactly."

"You must have been here for a long time and be pretty smart to be able to field stuff like this hideout and a robot army. You probably know how these emerald things work. At least, that's what I heard Sonic accuse you of while he came after me."

"Like the back of my hand," Robotnik boasted, grinning.

"You have a problem with that Sonic. I have a problem with being stuck on this planet. You also seem like a pretty smart man, making robots, having a secret hideout like this…if you can promise me a way back to Earth, I can promise to help do whatever it takes to bring Sonic down."

"Really? But you don't even know who I am or who Sonic is!"

Doherty looked straight into Robotnik's eyes. He had to pull this off properly, which meant no blinking. "Sonic attacked me. You didn't. I think that's enough for me to make a decision for now."

Robotnik stroked his chin in contemplation. "You know, I'm not really looking for assistants right now…"

"So am I in or not?"

"Well, that depends on what you know how to do. Besides using a gun, of course."

Now this was something Alan would not be able to fool his way through. "I admit I'm not much of an electronics guy. Machines, I have experiences in repairing cars. If your robots aren't too complex, I can give it a go, at least in assembly, double-checking and such."

"Hmm…" Robotnik frowned with a look of uncertainty. "You're not offering me much, if anything, that I can't do myself."

"It is pretty thin, I know. But come on, two pairs of hands are still better than one. And I think I can learn. Who knows how long I will be here anyway? Worst case scenario? I just stay out of the way."

Oh, that you will do.

Alan leaned closer towards the glass. Time to play another card. "Other than that, there may be more advantages to a human soldier than a robot one than you think."

"Such as?" Eggman sounded very doubtful indeed, almost offended, even.

"Now I'm not questioning your ability to build robots. In fact, they can still be very useful to me. But here's the thing: I'm standing right here. The robots that you sent to fight Sonic aren't. Sonic could have killed me, but he didn't. Am I correct in assuming he isn't the kind to take lives?"

"Indeed he isn't. Good guess."

"Then there could a weakness of his that can be exploited. I'm a pretty good shot. I can make him…regret that decision. And there are the practical factors. I don't know if you have a stealth robot or something like that, but I think someone like me can sneak up onto him or others better than a machine. Plan an ambush, something like that."

A few seconds of silence. "Fair point."

"Look, I could talk more about that, but the most important thing is I have already decided which side to take. And frankly it's not really my choice. If they didn't treat me like a threat when I first came in contact with them, I wouldn't want to be one to them right now just because they wouldn't get off my back. I guess they've never heard of self-fulfilling prophecies."

Robotnik simply laughed at this. "No. I don't believe they have," he concurred.

Alan felt something sounded a bit off about him when he said that, but didn't comment on it. "Right. Let's get down to business. Before I can do anything, I need some information. Not just about Sonic. This whole place. And you, too."

"About me? Why?"

Doherty shrugged. "It's how I work. I do everything I can, with the only condition being that I know who my employers are. And my reward, of course. I hope there's nothing wrong with that."

Robotnik heaved a sigh before replying, "I suppose not. Fine, about what I said earlier, maybe I am looking for an assistant after all. Sonic and his pals have caused me quite the robot shortage. Maybe we'll see if you can make up for that. But you better have something good for me." He turned to walk toward the door he used earlier. "Come on in then. I'm sure you're glad to be able to leave this room." As he approached the door, he snapped his fingers again, causing the glass to shift back into its original position.

Alan realized that it also caused something else to happen as headed towards the other door on his side of the room. On the wall opposite the glass, which he failed to see until now, he saw what seemed like air vents being closed and hidden by sliding panels. Only then did he understand what Robotnik said.

"Sonic, you think he could actually do that?" Tails asked his surrogate brother, having heard the entire conversation through the small earpiece he'd given Alan before the insertion. He was pretty sure Robotnik wouldn't be able to detect it. They were monitoring the progress through the fox's computer. The location of the facility was actually already marked on a map screen, but the operation wasn't over yet.

"No way, bro. My senses aren't just for running, you know," Sonic, seated next to Tails, confidently replied. "Can't believe we found yet another one of his chill-out spots."

"I know, right? Hope Alan can somehow find the others while in there."

"Yep." Deep down however, Sonic was hoping Alan could find out something else, something that could quench the unease he began to feel after Alan and Robotnik finished speaking. Something about Alan's cover story…

Fifteen minutes later, Doherty found himself wowed by the size of the facility that he was walked through, but left cold by the utter lack of life in it. There were many, many rooms placed throughout the labyrinth of steel corridors and walkways. And all of them were empty, barring some being filled with mechanical parts he didn't recognize. Parts of the place appeared to be used less than others, with less lighting and more dust.

He wouldn't admit it, but Alan had to give credit to Robotnik for being able to live completely alone in this huge, lifeless facility for years. Who wouldn't go crazy doing so? Alan stopped at that last point. Maybe he has already. Or always was.

Finally the two men were in a control room of some sort, lighted up by various colors like a disco, to Alan's curiosity. A large metal table was in the center, surrounded by chairs, and on the far end, a wall filled with many monitor screens. Each of them showed the viewpoint of a scout robot patrolling the outside, and Alan quickly realized his face had appeared on one of these.

On a smaller table just under the monitor screens lay the reason for the strange lighting in the room, causing Alan to halt in surprise. There they were! The three Chaos Emeralds recently taken from Angel Island were in plain sight, practically begging to be saved.

"Something wrong?" Robotnik asked.

"Oh, I…just didn't think there'd be more than one of these things," Alan quickly replied. That one wasn't really a lie, though. "I just remembered Sonic mentioning it in plural."

"Beautiful, aren't they?" The fat scientist walked over to them and cradled one with an obnoxious grin, staring at it like it was the most precious thing in the world. It definitely was to him. Most people would look perfectly normal doing the same thing, but the knowledge of who Robotnik was made the image somewhat disturbing in Alan's eyes.

Speaking of knowing him…Alan decided it was best not to waste time anymore. "Alright, that's some fascinating stuff, but could I ask about other things instead?"

"Who I am, correct?" Robotnik guessed, his back turned against his guest and still looking over the Emerald meticulously.

Alan was aware that he could simply pull out his gun and shoot this guy right here, right now. The Emeralds were right there for him to take, and he had mentally tracked his route from the entrance while coming here. Then he would just need to give them to Sonic or Knuckles, and finally, home sweet home.

But then the mystery would never be solved. Alan reminded himself that that was exactly why he came here. Not to mention this was not the way he was supposed to work. Save as many lives as possible, both innocent and guilty.

There was more to this than it seemed, and the best time to ask questions was now. Alan was sure Robotnik would be far less likely to talk if he got Sonic and Tails charging in, which he could right now, and putting his fat butt in a jail cell. And then he would eventually be broken out by another robot brigade from another hideout anyway.

Besides, Alan had no idea how what security would be like at the entrance should he kill him now. "Yeah. If you don't mind."

Robotnik was silent again. He put the Emerald back down on the table before turning around to face Alan. There was a clear frown on his forehead, and he wasn't smiling.

"I…" he began, "am Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, engineering genius, former head researcher in Area 51."

"Area 51? Seriously?" It did make sense though. Where else would there be more secrecy? No wonder that investigation went nowhere.

"Yes. Where else do you think that gemstone could have been taken to, huh? And anyway I wasn't finished. I have been trying to take over this world for ten years. And with your help, I won't have to try any longer."

Alan just stared blankly. "Oh kay…before I ask how, may I ask why?" he asked with eyebrows raised. "I'm pretty sure it's not because Sonic called you fat."

"Because they deserve it."

Doherty didn't say anything. He leaned against the table, his expression telling Robotnik to go on.

"If you are wondering who drew first blood, I'll just give you a hint: you are not the first human to be captured by them after being teleported here. They have done it before, fifteen years ago." The fat man walked up closer, his eyes level with Alan's. Though it wasn't apparent due to the sunglasses, they were flashing with rage. "And I wasn't as lucky or skilled as you to be able to escape."

Alan stood up now, hoping he did not seem shocked. He had meant his cover story earlier to be just plausible enough, and now he was learning that it was in fact a recap of his target's backstory. Was this why he had been let in so easily? "What…happened then?"

"Four years of torture, experiments, jeering, public displaying in cages and what have you. All because I was different from them." The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. "It was the same everywhere I went, or rather, where I was taken to. Not one came in defense of me. Not even one. Tell me, what kind of society does that?"

Doherty had to admit there was a disturbing possibility that that could be true. The few mobians he had met other than Sonic's own little circle, the ones in the village, were not friendly to him in the slightest. But that one had to be because of Robotnik, right? "So…even if you never came here, they would have done the same to me?"

"Without a doubt. Speaking of doubts, if you are having any about my story…" Robotnik slowly reached for the buttons on his red suit and opened them up slowly. After a while, he revealed his body beneath it. What Alan saw actually caused him to gasp.

Robotnik's chest was filled with so many old scars and marks that they actually took up more area than that of healthy human skin. "And this…is just the front," he mentioned as he closed his suit up again. Thankfully. Even without the wounds, his body was surely not going to appear on the cover of a health magazine anytime soon.

"Alright, alright…" Alan wanted the story to continue for the sake of getting his mind off this. But he wondered if that would make things worse. "Then how did you get this hideout and a robot army?"

"Well, publicly torturing me was only their first mistake." A smile formed on Robotnik's face, though it wasn't the happy kind. "Their second one was when they found out about my engineering skills as I tried to piece together a crude drill to escape. It apparently impressed them enough that I was taken away to a…different place. A high-tech one. I was offered a job."

Extro, Alan thought.

"The company developed military weapons and needed my help. They learned about my…predicament in those backwards hellholes. So they gave me leeway. They let me learn about their technology, things I had never seen before. They gave me a place to eat, to sleep. They wanted to show they were different from the savages in Old Mobius. At least, that was the official position," he said as he began to chuckle coldly.

"But they weren't different," Alan guessed cynically.

"Still enough prejudice that I could probably have invented something to physically measure it," Robotnik confirmed. "But of course, it worked in my favor. It blinded them, made them underestimate me. After a year with them, I made them realize their error. Now? Nearly everything they have belongs to me. Their computers, their robots, their factories, their secret bases, such as this one…"

"You mean there's more than one of these facilities?" Alan asked for the second time since he got teleported here. Finally he was making some progress.

"Oh, yes. And I would still have more…if it weren't for that meddling hedgehog."

"What about him?"

"Sonic, and later his friends, came out as the only people who could challenge me every time I unleashed a plan to make mobians regret what they did to me. They think they're all high and mighty, always stopping the big evil tyrant from taking over the world!" As he said that, he unexpectedly raised a fist and brought it down hard on the room's central table. His arm trembled, and his teeth were showing. "They think they know it all…"

Alan had to suppress any expression of surprise again. Sonic and Tails. Could they have known about this? But if they did, why would they go through the trouble of sheltering me? He mentally ordered himself to calm down before more questions popped into his head.

Robotnik suddenly grinned. "And they're probably thinking they can defeat me by destroying each of my bases whenever they find one! Fools! I can rebuild them, you know, over and over again, in different places, and if they think they can find a map of all of them at once, they are tragically mistaken! Hohohoho…"

Uh oh. "But couldn't they find out where your bases are by looking through that company's information and records?" he asked, sounding worried, though not for the reason Robotnik thought.

Robotnik calmed himself down just enough to answer. "Oh, of course! Which is why I have already destroyed them! They don't know anything about the true power these bases have, including how I can relocate to areas the company has never looked at! More easily than they think!" And then he started laughing again.

The outburst hit Alan like a bullet. Goddammit. He wondered if it was time to terminate the mission. No, he told himself. Robotnik wasn't done yet. There was no way he would be saying all of these again in different circumstances. There may be something left yet.

Something that could determine the black or white in this. Something to help influence Alan what to do. The investigation is not over yet.

"Anyway, like I said," Robotnik continued after not speaking for a moment, sounding relatively calmer now, "I took a lot of what they had. Including…uh, you see, I was wondering if you were up for some…target practice?"

"Huh?"

"Follow me. You get to prove to me how well you can indeed shoot," Robotnik said as he started walking towards the door.

The two men exited the door and headed down towards the corridor. After several turns, they came to a long walkway in front of a single pair of metal double doors at the end.

As they approached, Alan began to hear sounds coming from behind the doors. He wasn't sure what they-

Alan Doherty felt the shivers as he realized it sounded like…cries? Wailing? Moaning? Just then, he was reminded of a piece of info he read off the internet earlier. And before that, Sonic had mentioned the same thing too.

When Robotnik finally reached the doors without slowing down and pushed them open, Doherty's jaw fell in utter shock as he saw exactly what he thought it was. Dear God in Heaven!

Robotnik, on the other hand, was not fazed by the sight at all. "Consider this a preview of what will happen to this planet."