AN: Wow! Thank you so much to ASHPD, Scyphi, Eternally Ebony, Gamenoise, sonicxjones and TyVulpine for reviewing/adding/faving/doing something with my story! Much appreciated :D I think that's everyone, but if I missed anyone out, I'm sorry.

For you lovely people, here is chapter 3 - hope you like!

Mind over Matter

Chapter Three: Dropping In Uninvited

Tails shifted position, allowing his small body to sink further down into the plush, comfortable chair upon which he was sitting. A small sigh of satisfaction escaped his lips. The soft material felt great against his aching body, and the pain in his extremities was beginning to fade away. The young fox allowed his eyes to close as his ears listened to the dull hum of people talking and vehicles moving all around him.

His dozing was quickly interrupted by someone poking at his shoulder with his or her finger. Reluctantly, he opened his heavy eyelids to see the face of Sonic looking back at him.

"Sorry, Tails, but you've gotta get some food in you before you can think about taking a nap."

Deep down, the cub knew that his older brother was right, but that still didn't make him any more willing to accept his suggestion. He tried turning to his side and curling up for extra warmth, but only succeeded in twisting his arm into an awkward position. Groaning, he decided to sit up.

"Guess we'll leave the sightseeing for tomorrow, huh?" the blue hedgehog joked. Tails yawned and nodded in agreement. He rubbed his eyes with a gloved paw in an effort to regain some clarity of the surrounding area.

Both of them were sitting at a table outside of a small, quaint diner, which had been seemingly tucked away in between two large buildings. The inside of the diner was nothing special: just a simple serving counter with several booths capable of seating four people spread around it, polished wood surfaces and thick cushioned seats. It was the kind of place that may not have been aesthetically pleasing when compared to an expensive restaurant, but the food was of a high enough quality to compensate for it.

Needless to say, this was what had attracted Sonic and Tails to the place, and here they sat on a pair of reclining chairs, separated by a weatherproof table. Many delicious scents wafted through the entrance to the building each time someone opened the door to the kitchen, each one embedding themselves in the kit's nostrils. His mouth began to drool as he tried to pick out their order among the conflicting aromas.

Thankfully, he didn't have long to wait, as seconds later a lanky, male dog wearing an apron made his way over to their table, narrowly balancing a large platter stacked with Chilli Dogs between his hands. "One Chilli Dog Special for six?" the waiter inquired, looking for other members of their party.

Sonic raised a hand into the air. "Just here, dude, thanks."

Tails looked on in disbelief at the size of the meal being laid out before them. It was almost as big as him! Sonic fished for some mobiums from in between his quills, looking for a couple of paper bills that he could use to tip the waiter.

"Thank you kindly, sirs. Enjoy," the dog said leaving them, confused as to how just two of them could hope to eat so much.

Sonic watched as Tails picked his way through the stack of spicy treats, searching for the perfect one to start off with. He shoved the entire thing into his mouth, spreading Chilli sauce across his nose.

"Oh, we will," the fox mumbled happily as he chewed through the snack in two bites.

"Hey, save some for me too, bro!" Sonic laughed as he selected a Chilli Dog of his own.

For such a little guy, Tails sure had one heck of an appetite. The fox finished off his second dog in just as many seconds, and wiped some of the excess sauce from his muzzle. He exhaled a long breath and smiled.

"This is the life, huh, Sonic?"

"You said it, short-stuff," the teen agreed. He licked a small amount of Chilli residue from his fingers, crossed his legs, and folded his arms behind his head in relaxation. "You said it."

Tails manoeuvred his body to sit in the same manner as his idol. One thought passed through his mind as he settled into place.

Why can't we do this more often?

Scratch and Grounder screeched at the top of their respective voice-units as the Egg-O-Matic hovercraft sliced through the air and into Metropolis City. The tank robot clutched at his brother for dear life, unaware that he was obscuring his vision. Scratch attempted to peel the arms of his twin away from his eyes.

"Let go, you oversized paperweight! I can't see where I'm go-AHHHH!"

The hovercraft was on a collision course with a tall skyscraper. The chicken Badnik wrenched the steering mechanism to the left with as much force as he dared. The vehicle narrowly avoided its target and flew off merrily into its new chosen direction. The two robots screamed again as their ocular sensors observed the range of obstacles now rushing to meet them as a result of their course change. Scratch steered the Egg-O-Matic as best as he could, trembling like a large plate of jelly on top of a washing machine.

Needless to say, Grounder's backseat driving was not helping. "Left! No, right! Straight ahead! Watch out for that sign!"

The vehicle ploughed through a billboard with a loud 'Crunch', covering the two lackeys in sawdust, and reducing the speed of the hovercraft to a crawl. Scratch coughed up a large cloud of dust and brushed a few wood splinters from his shoulder.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," he said in a relaxed tone.

Grounder pulled a handkerchief out of his chest compartment and blew his nose loudly, creating a shower of sparks that cascaded from it. The craft's dashboard lights started to flash repeatedly, drawing their attention to the Hedgehog Detector. Both Badniks looked down below and gasped at what they saw.

"Sonic and the fox-brat are sitting right below us!" Grounder squealed with excitement.

Scratch eagerly licked the 'lips' of his beak and held out an arm toward his twin. "Give me the 'Egg-O-Matic Brain Scrambler and Mind Swapper'. I'm going to bag that hedgehog now!"

"What?" Grounder spluttered. "You can't be the one who blasts him – you were the pilot!" He snatched the weapon from the seat beside him and hurriedly took aim. "If anyone is going to blast that hedgehog, it should be me."

"Dr. Robotnik wants us to blast Sonic!" argued Scratch. "Not the streetlamp ten feet away, so give it here!" The chicken robot lunged for the device, wrapping his long fingers around the barrel. Grounder tugged as hard as he could, determined to keep the device in his grasp.

"No way! You were the pilot, so now I get to shoot!" As the bots struggled to seize possession of the contraption, neither of them noticed that their hovercraft had started to rock violently back and forth. Scratch had decided that enough was enough.

"Fine!" he growled. "If you won't give it to me, I'll come back there and take it myself!"

He leaped out of his seat and pounced on top of Grounder. This was too much for the flying machine to take. The sudden shift in weight caused the vehicle to spin 360 degrees, depositing its cargo on a one-way trip to the hard ground below.

Sonic frowned as his ears focused on a strange noise. It sounded like something heavy was falling from a great height, and fast. Whatever it was, it was getting closer – and it was right above them. With lightning-fast reflexes, the blue blur leaped across the table and shoved Tails to the floor.

"Hey! What's the big-" the fox started, before two objects plunged into their table, scattering the Chilli Dogs and broken pieces of furniture around the large crater they had just created.

"Phew!" Sonic muttered, wiping his brow. "That was a close one. You okay, pal?"

Tails picked himself up off of the floor and brushed some of the gravel out of his fur. "I'm fine. Thanks for saving me, Sonic."

The hedgehog offered him a wink. "Anytime, bud. Now, what in the heck was that?"

The blue hero had his question answered when the forms of Scratch and Grounder hoisted themselves out of the hole.

"Scratch and Grounder? What are those two bolt-brains doing here?" he wondered out loud.

Tails looked on as the chicken robot slipped on the side of the pit and fell back inside with a yelp. He was holding something that looked like a pipe. The cub raised a finger and pointed this out to his companion. "What do you think that thing's for, Sonic?"

The hedgehog studied the weapon as best as he could, watching as Grounder tried to heave his twin out of the hole. "I dunno, but I'm gonna go find out." He locked his eyes onto those of his friend. "You stay here and enjoy the show, okay?"

Tails nodded. "You got it, bro."

With that confirmation from the kit, Sonic blasted over to the dazed robotic henchmen.

After a few seconds of struggling, Grounder managed to heave his partner in crime free of the large hole. Scratch cleared his throat with a disgusting retch, and coughed up a large chunk of soil.

"Ugh," he grunted. "I think I have a lump of concrete lodged in my nasal cavity."

"Perhaps Monsieur would like a little something to clear his palette, oui?" a male voice spoke out from behind them.

Scratch and Grounder turned to face the owner of said voice. Their eyes met with a strangely familiar blue hedgehog, dressed in a black pair of trousers, waistcoat and jacket with a bowtie. A long, thin goatee hung off of the end of his chin (attached with superglue), curling into a small loop.

"What do you want?" Grounder asked rudely. The hedgehog waiter gave them a polite smile, and proceeded to speak in a questionably authentic French accent.

"Forgive me, but I was wondering if you two gentlemen would be Scratch and Grounder?" he inquired.

Scratch nodded and attempted to make himself look more imposing by standing on the tips of his toes. "That's us!" he proclaimed with a sneer of arrogance.

The hedgehog raised his hands in welcome, a pleased expression on his face. "Ah, we have been expecting you!"

"You have?" Grounder asked. The hedgehog nodded.

"Oui, oui! A VIP table has been booked in advance just for the two of you." He directed their gaze to a lone table sitting a few feet away from them with two chairs on either side.

Predictably, now being the centre of attention, the Badniks dropped all mistrust immediately.

"Wow! Really?" Scratch squawked. "No one has ever booked us a VIP table before!" The waiter began to walk them over to the table.

"Maybe Dr. Robotnik likes us after all!" Grounder said, smiling excitedly.

Tails watched from the sidelines, desperately trying to keep his sniggering inaudible. "I can't believe they're falling for it!" he murmured between snorts of laughter.

He saw that Sonic was now seating the Badniks into their individual chairs.

"Would you like to see the menu?" the 'waiter' asked them both.

The Badniks nodded. The hedgehog vanished in the blink of an ocular circuit and returned instantly with a pair of leather-bound menus. The robots took one each and perused the list in detail.

"Hmm," Scratch mumbled. "That's the problem with these kinds of places; there's always so much to choose from."

"Would Monsieur like to try the Special?" the waiter suggested. Both Badniks looked at each other and nodded their approval.

"Yeah, the Special sounds good. We'll have two of those," Grounder confirmed. The waiter took the menus and gave them a short nod.

"Very well. The Special will arrive in just a few moments." The hedgehog dashed off, leaving the two moronic cronies to wait for their supposed meal.

Neither of them realised that their table was standing in the middle of a road, nor the humongous eighteen-wheeler truck that was accelerating toward them at top speed.

Before either robot could react, the truck smashed straight into their table and flattened them into the concrete, impressing tire-tracks onto their bodies. Grounder pulled his face out of the serration that lay beneath him, which had been imprinted with the shape of his body. He could see stars.

"I don't see what was so special about that – it felt just like any other eighteen-wheeler running over me," he warbled thickly.

Sonic and Tails couldn't stop themselves from crying with laughter at the scene they had just witnessed. "Bon appetite, bozos!" Sonic said, grinning. "Maybe if you stick around we can see about giving you your just deserts, too!"

"It's the hedgehog!" Scratch yelled, peeling himself from the asphalt. He readied the Mind Scrambler and aimed at the Hero of Mobius, who made no effort to escape its sights.

"That's a pretty neat looking toy!" Sonic exclaimed upon seeing the gizmo trained on him. "What's it do?"

"Wait there and I'll show you!" Scratch barked. As the chicken Badnik pulled the trigger, Sonic had already moved, causing the energy blast to dissipate in a harmless puff of smoke as it struck the ground.

"Yeesh! Talk about a slow-mo!" he said with a smirk. "Come on, I'm standing right here."

Scratch fired again, with Sonic dodging at the last second. "And now I'm standing over here!"

Scratch fired again. "Now I'm here!" the hero said, tapping the bot on the shoulder. Scratch squawked with rage and turned to face him, firing the weapon yet again.

"Will-"

Blast.

"-You-"

Blast.

"-Stand-"

Blast.

"-still!" the mechanical fowl cried out in anger.

The blue blur lived up to his reputation, stringing together a fluent ballet of jumps and dodges. He yawned as another energy blast ricocheted off of a brick wall somewhere near the vicinity of his head and checked an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Guys, do you mind if we wrap this up? I'm getting bored here!"

"Don't worry about that, you blue pest!" Grounder replied. "I've got something over here that will spice things up a little!"

Sonic turned to offer another zinging one liner in response to the tank robot's statement, but his vocal chords froze up at what he saw. Grounder had Tails suspended in the air, his right hand clutched tightly around one of the cub's twin appendages and his left around the other. The fox was trying his hardest to break free, but the metal fingers were clasped shut and digging into his skin with no sign of loosening.

"You better let my little buddy go, robo-dweeb, or I'll spin ya into the ground!" Sonic growled at the Badnik.

"Why should he, when I can just blast him with this!" Scratch clucked with laughter as he pointed the bazooka at the fox cub. Tails ceased fighting as a chilling wave of fear wracked his body.

"Sonic!" he cried, his voice quivering. "Help!"

"He can't help you this time, you little punk!" Grounder snarled with malice. "Fire!"

Scratch pulled the trigger. For all four of them, everything appeared to happen in slow motion.

The contemptible joy plastered across the faces of both robots, knowing that they were about to deal a huge emotional blow to their master's hated enemy.

The abject terror on Tails' face as he saw the energy beams erupt from the barrel of the weapon, knowing that this could be all she wrote.

The same expression of surprise on all three faces as they saw the blue hedgehog jump between the fox and the beam at the last possible second, receiving the full brunt of the shot.

Neither Badnik could believe what had just happened. It took a few moments for their synthetic brains to process what both of them had seen, but register it did.

"We got the hedgehog!" Scratch screamed with exuberance.

The yellow ray fanning out from the dish attached to the end of the Mind Scrambler encased the blue hero in a cocoon of light. There was nothing he could do – he was completely paralysed.

The two members of Dr. Robotnik's Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad had finally succeeded in fulfilling their goal: catch Sonic the Hedgehog.

(End Chapter)

AN: And another one bites the dust! Oh yeah!

Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your views on how this is going to far, so please don't hesitate to share your opinion. Until next time, seeya later!