AN: Here's the original Chapter 7. Hope you enjoy!
Mind Over Matter
Chapter Seven (Draft)
The two furred heroes made quick progress through the twisting maze of tall trees that made up the Mobius Jungle, and soon arrived back at the house of Professor Von Schlemmer.
Sonic released his hold of Tails' hand and shook his head in an effort to recollect his bearings. His brain felt as though it was rattling around like a collection of loose marbles in a washing machine.
"How are you feeling, Sonic?" his best friend inquired of him, watching with mild amusement.
"Like a sack of potatoes," he replied dryly. It was strange that he had never considered before now just how odd it felt to have your body dragged behind someone running in excess of the speed of sound. "Next time we do that, I'm gonna insist on getting a cart to sit in."
"Oh, come on, Sonic! I'm getting better!" the young freedom fighter pouted.
That much, at least, was true. Sonic felt a swell of pride in his chest. Tails had managed to improve his control over the sheer speed now available to him in his new body, and in such a short amount of time too. If there was one thing that he could say for the former fox, it was that the kid was determined to be as good as he could be, no matter what he was doing. Being a quality that Sonic too possessed made the pride for his younger bro all the more prevalent.
"I guess I can't argue with that," he agreed, noticing the small smile that reached his companion's muzzle at these words. "Now, let's go inside and see if the professor has finished repairing that ray-gun thing we dropped off earlier. I don't know about you, but I'm about to pass out from the heat that all this extra fur is generating."
Tails chuckled, following his best friend to the front door of the small house before them.
Extending his fist, the back of his knuckles rapped sharply against the wooden surface as Sonic knocked. "Hey, Professor Von Schlemmer, we're back!" he called.
There was no answer. The former hedgehog uttered an exaggerated groan.
"Oh man, not this again," he muttered to himself. He cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned in closer to the door. "It's Sonic and Tails!" he called. The professor still had yet to reply. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Where are you stuck this time?" Their shock-haired ally seemed to have a bizarre ability to get stuck in all manner of places. It was almost par for the course when the two of them called in on him.
As Sonic tried unsuccessfully to rouse a response from the professor, Tails walked around to the side of the house to see if he could spot him through a window. He circled the building and found one such viewpoint at the very back, though it was particularly filthy. Presumably the various fumes and whatnot from multiple experiments had accumulated to create the dirt that covered it. He used his lightly furred arm to wipe away some of the grime from the small pane of glass and pressed his nose against it, snorting when some of the particles entered his nose. From what he could see of it, the place was empty. Though, perhaps 'abandoned' would have been a more appropriate choice of word.
He noticed that a circular stream of light had filtered into the room through part of the ceiling, positioned over a section of the professor's workbench. Curious. Tails stepped away from the house, and decided to tell Sonic what he saw. As he took a passing glance back at the window, his eyes widened in revelation as they focused on a large hole that had been opened up in the roof.
"Uh, Sonic?" he called out. "I think you should take a look at this."
Moments later, the (until recently) blue hero came to a stop beside him. "Take a look at what?"
Tails pointed his finger toward the roof. "That," he said simply.
Sonic turned and eyed the damage that had been done to the top of the house. He whistled in surprise. "Looks like the professor tried to do a little home improvement!"
"Do you think it was one of his experiments?" Tails queried. "I remember when we had to pull his head out of the ceiling after that jet pack he was testing malfunctioned."
Sonic narrowed his eyes slightly. "Somehow, I don't think that's what happened this time. Something about this smells rotten with a capital 'R'. Let's see if there are any answers inside."
The duo jogged back to the front of the house. Sonic twisted the brass handle of the door before them and gently pushed it open. It wasn't locked.
Though the majority of the room appeared to have been unchanged, the two heroes could see just how much damage had been caused to the top of the house. Thick clouds of dust accompanied falling pieces of plaster as they dropped from the ceiling, and chunks of shattered roof tiles were laid beneath the opening in an uneven jigsaw.
"Professor? Are you here?" Sonic asked of the room as if it would provide an answer.
Unsurprisingly, there was no reply, muffled or otherwise.
Tails walked over to the workbench that he had spotted earlier through the window and brushed aside the debris smothered on top of it. He recognized it as the surface that Professor Von Schlemmer had laid the pieces of the broken Mind Scrambler upon when they brought it to him.
"Sonic, we've got a problem!" he called out.
"Don't tell me," Sonic said, holding up a hand to quieten him. "The mind gun is gone, right?"
Tails nodded. Sonic crossed his arms and snorted at the confirmation.
"I thought so. Buttnik must have come back here while we were kicking tail in Metropolis, kidnapped the professor, and took the mind gun with him." He rested a hand against his forehead as the pieces came together. The battle against Scratch and Grounder probably provided him with the perfect diversion.
"What do we do now?" Tails asked, his voice displaying the urgency he felt. "Without the mind thingy, we'll be stuck like this forever!"
"There's no need to panic just yet," the hero replied. He paused for a moment and nodded to himself before continuing. "I've got an idea, but you ain't gonna like it."
"What is it?" the young hero asked. His eyes unwillingly narrowed in trepidation.
Sonic smirked and spoke with unwavering self-belief. "We're gonna break into Robotnik's fortress."
Tails stared at him for a long couple of seconds. "...I don't like it."
"I told ya so."
"But Sonic, how are we gonna do that?" the kit exclaimed. "What if they know that we aren't ourselves right now? We barely got away the last time, and we'll be walking right in to Robotnik's hands!"
"We can do it," Sonic said, reassuring him. "Just 'cause Lard-belly is holding the cards this time doesn't make the game impossible to win. If anything, I think we could play them in our favour."
"How so?" Tails asked. Sonic shook his head and grabbed his friend's hand.
"No time to yack, Jack. We've gotta boogie!" The hero winked. "Come on, I'll explain it on the way."
xXxXx
Dusk had started to settle around the fortress of despised despot Dr. Robotnik. The mad genius himself sat in a large soft chair, dressed in a long pink dressing gown with matching nightcap and slippers, his feet resting upon a large, green, metallic footstool of some sort. He scrunched his eyebrows together as he scanned the local newspaper for any information on his evildoings. After all, as far as he was concerned, a good tyrant was a published tyrant.
Seconds later, he threw the paper away from him in disgust. "Bah!" he grunted. "Not one single complaint. You'd think these people didn't appreciate the effort that I was putting in to make their lives miserable!"
"Well, you are trying to take over the planet, your heavy footed-ness," Grounder reasoned from his position beneath his master's ankles.
"Silence!" Robotnik responded, lifting his foot and forcing it down on to the robot's back with a dull 'clang'. He ignored his lackey's yelp of pain and shifted his body slightly to lean toward the door in to the room. "Scratch! Where is my hot beverage?"
"Coming, sir!" the cyber rooster replied with haste, carrying a large china mug on a silver tray. He jogged over to the spherical mass of humanity, trying his best not to wince as he saw the chair preparing to buckle in protest at the applied weight of his creator, and promptly tripped up over the doctor's adopted footstool.
Robotnik hollered in surprise as the mug and its contents splashed against his face, soaking his bushy moustache in hot liquid. Scratch watched in absolute terror as the warm fluid dripped from the man's drooping facial hair. He could already see the ramifications for his mistake inside of his head. The robots' angry master stood from his chair, appearing to tower over the two of them.
"You had better find a good hiding spot," he growled, "because when I get a hold of you, I'm going to pluck each of your tail feathers, coat you in flour, and deep fry you in a vat of boiling oil."
He grabbed the chicken by the shoulders, and pressed his bulbous nose against the robot's beak. "With eleven herbs and spices!" he shouted at the terrified fowl.
Before any kind of culinary punishment could commence, all three of them were distracted by an alarm bell ringing in their ears. Robotnik waddled over to his computer monitor, as fast as his short legs could manage.
"What is it now?" he asked aloud to himself, fingers tapping various buttons on the monitor's accompanying keyboard.
"It sounded like the early warning system, sir," Scratch ventured. He was dealt a backhand blow to the head for his trouble by his irate master.
"I know that, imbecile!" Robotnik screeched. "I want to know what it was that set it off!"
A few more buttons pressed later activated a direct feed from one of the fortress' many security cameras. Robotnik looked up at the screen and gasped.
No. It can't be... He looked again.
Standing outside of the gigantic building that the grotesque conqueror called his base of operations were the two young troublemakers who had foiled his plans for so long. Both of them were surrounded by a squadron of guard-bots. The tall androids that he had created to protect his home, wearing even taller hats upon their heads, had Sonic and Tails cornered. Both of the little troublemakers had their hands up in the air as each of the bots pointed high-capacity laser rifles at them.
Robotnik howled with laughter. "This is too good to be true! Those two fools must have discovered that their friend was missing, and decided to try and rescue him!"
He leaned over to an intercom system that had been implanted into a wall beside the computer monitor and activated it. "Bring those two 'heroes' to my private chambers now!" his voice boomed over the loudspeakers, Scratch and Grounder grinding their teeth from the squealing feedback that accompanied it. He wrapped his hands together in excitement, thinking over the possibilities. "I wish to discuss their accommodation...their permanent accommodation!"
He watched with delight as the two Mobians were dragged to their ordered destination, taking great pleasure at the expressions of doom painted on both of their faces.
xXxXx
Sonic and Tails struggled fruitlessly against the chains and padlock that they had been tied up with, feeling the cold unforgiving material cutting into their wrists and ankles. Both of them were sitting on the floor of a cold chamber, constructed from metal sheets that had been riveted to the walls and converged into a dome above them. The room was completely bare, with no furniture that they could see and no windows. The only light that entered the chamber was courtesy of one sole bulb dangling from a thin wire several feet above their heads. The only way in or out of the room was through a solitary steel door.
After a few seconds, the door opened. Sonic nestled a deep scowl across his eye ridges as Robotnik strode into the room, chest puffed out before him to ridiculous proportions. The door closed behind him, leaving the three of them alone. The mad genius walked around the heroes in a circle, his hands clasped firmly behind his back and with a spring in his step. Glued to his face was an exceptionally wide and malicious smile, separated by more teeth than should be possible for one mouth to contain. Clearly, he was enjoying this.
"Well, now," Robotnik started. He made sure that each syllable he spoke was exaggerated to ridiculous proportions to provide the appropriate mockery with which to relish this situation. "What have we here? If it isn't Sonic-" he looked at the hedgehog, followed by the fox "-and Tails."
He paused for a moment. "Or, should that be Tails-"he looked at the hedgehog once again, followed by the fox "-and Sonic? He snickered softly to himself. "You didn't really believe that I wouldn't find out about your little 'accident', did you?"
"Find out what, Egg-man?" the hedgehog snarled. Robotnik simply laughed louder.
"Oh, come now, Tails. There's no need to maintain this charade any longer," he belittled. "I have been aware for some time that both of you are not who you claim to be."
Sonic snorted. "You think its gonna make a difference? I could beat ya even if I was trapped inside your body!"
Robotnik leaned against a wall and twiddled his thumbs, grinning. "I won't deny that you have a certain 'knack' for escaping from me, but this time will be very different."
He stepped forward and began to walk in circles around his captives. "I will also admit that it has been somewhat entertaining over these last few years, playing these little games of yours. In a way, I think I'll miss having you as a sparring partner against which I can test my latest creations," he sniffed dramatically. "But in a more realistic way, I am going to immensely enjoy your assured destruction now that you two are my prisoners."
"Again with the monologue, Blob-nik?" Sonic sighed. "Why don't you give your mouth a break for once, ya bloated windbag, and tell us what you want already?"
"Oh, it's not a case of what I want, spike-ball. I already have that." He grinned with glee at the two heroes. "Now it's all about what I am going to do to Mobius with you two out of the way. Perhaps I'll decimate Mobius' capital and build a theme park on top of it."
"A theme park? You?" Tails repeated in disbelief.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Sonic agreed. "Usually people are only meant to feel sick after going on the rides, not before."
Robotnik huffed like a child at this display. "Fine, it was just an idea! I don't even know why I should listen to you two, anyway. You'll never stop me from using my mind scrambling device to achieve my desires!"
"But wasn't that thing broken earlier?" Tails asked, confused. The doctor snorted as though he considered answering the question beneath him. Though, everyone knew that he would do so anyway.
"All you managed to do was destroy my prototype," The tyrant retorted with a sneer. "This one is a much more exciting prospect. You see-"
"Oh, great. Here we go with another one of his speeches," Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes at Tails. "Anytime for a Chili Dog before ya start, doc? I don't want to have to wait until tomorrow before I can eat again."
The former fox giggled at the remark whilst the chubby despot stamped his foot in a most immature manner at having been interrupted.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to explain my master plan!" Robotnik snarled through clenched teeth. "Now, as I was saying. This newer version of the Mind Scrambler is not simply a handheld weapon; it is an intercontinental blasting device with a radius that encompasses the entire planet! One press of a button-" he lifted a finger and prodded it against his palm to simulate a button press "-and the entire population of this ghastly ball of rock will be subservient only to me."
"And just how are you gonna do that, huh? Bore 'em to submission?" Sonic wondered out loud.
Robotnik crossed his arms. "Do you want to hear the rest of my incomprehensibly intelligent evil scheme, or not?"
"Show of hands?" the hero suggested.
"That's it!" Robotnik snapped, at the end of his patience. "Ridicule me all you like, rodent. As soon as I have finished building the Mind Scrambler, I will use it to fulfil my ambitions, and you two are powerless to stop me!"
The evil genius snapped his fingers. The steel door swung open to allow his two loyal hench-bots to enter the room. "Take these two to the deepest, darkest, rankest prison cell that I have available!" he commanded. "And if no such cell exists, build one!
"Yes, your unreasonableness," the Badniks replied with a salute before grabbing Sonic and Tails by their bonds, and hauling them out through the door way.
Robotnik couldn't resist calling out to the two do-gooders as they were dragged away. "Perhaps if you're lucky, I'll keep you here after your minds have been wiped to become my personal servants. But for now, I have a civilization to enslave."
Wasting no time, the doctor too exited the room and made his way back to his lab to finish constructing the planetary weapon. He couldn't believe how good a day today had become. To think, it had started off so badly. He chuckled jovially as he imagined the numerous terrors that he could administer to his furry little guests once he was ruler of the world.
After so many years of trying to take over the planet, things were finally starting to go his way.
xXxXx
The robotic duo dragged the two bound Mobians down three flights of stone steps before finally arriving at the dungeon complex beneath the main fortress atrium. Scratch turned a key inside of the old fashioned deadbolt that had been fixed to the main door, carved from a solid slab of Mobian Oak (the material well known for its durability). The door opened with a protesting squeal from its hinges, making Tails' sensitive ears twitch. A strong odour hit both heroes' nostrils, provoking an involuntary twitch of disgust at the stale scent from Sonic.
Grounder smirked as he regarded the prisoners. "Welcome to your new home, hedgehog and fox-brat."
The Badniks led the hedgehog and fox inside the main room; a dark, miserable enclosure with no windows to allow sunlight. A low level of brightness was provided by a series of flaming torches that spread out across the top of the walls, though they looked to have been designed to minimise the burn so the room was still fairly dark. Excess moisture lent the walls a disgusting, slimy texture that neither of the captives were eager to check out. Standing before them in the centre was one large cage, with numerous vertical and horizontal metal bars making up the walls and roof. The floor also appeared to be metallic, though this took the form of a large solid block instead, which was surprisingly shiny against the miserable backdrop that befell the rest of the prison. Scratch and Grounder opened the lock to the cage and shoved the heroes inside, forcing the smaller fox body to hit the floor with a thump.
Scratch sniggered as Tails helped Sonic to stand. "So, how do you like the place, hmm?"
"Well, the rooms aren't to my expectations, and the staff? Dumb beyond all reason," Sonic quipped, dusting himself off. "We want to see the manager!"
"You're not going to be seeing anyone for a good long time, Sonic!" Grounder sneered. He slammed the cage door and locked it. "See you in a few hundred years!"
The Badnik twosome stepped outside of the prison chamber, laughing with all their cardiovascular pump mechanisms, and slammed the door shut behind them. Sonic waited for their footsteps to die away before choosing to speak again.
"So far, so good."
"I hope you know what you're doing, Sonic," Tails said quietly.
"No sweat," the teen replied with confidence. "I knew he wouldn't be able to resist putting us in such an easy to escape cell. The guy wants to rub it in our faces that we're helpless." He smirked to his buddy and winked. "We'll show him that we're anything but!"
Their conversation became interrupted by a tired voice that spoke out to them from the shadows of the cell, making Tails jump with surprise. "Sonic? Tails? Is that you, or am I just imagining things again?"
Sonic looked on with relief as the erstwhile Professor Von Schlemmer stepped out from the relative safety of darkness that the prison cell had in abundance. His lab coat was spattered with a black greasy substance of some sort, and his hair was not quite so straight as it had been when last they met, but he appeared to be unharmed.
"Professor!" Tails exclaimed with a smile. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine...I think," he replied, scratching his head as best he could with his hands bound. "They haven't done anything to me apart from throwing me into this cell."
"Glad to hear it," Sonic said. "We're gonna have to catch up later, though. Right now, its time for the Jailbreak Waltz!"
"Jailbreak?" Von Schlemmer parroted. "But you can't break out of here!"
"'Can't'?" Sonic repeated with a shocked expression his muzzle. "Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't know the meaning of the word 'can't'!"
The hero ran to the side of the cage and barely touched one of the bars before being flung back by an electric pulse. Tails and the professor rushed over to him as he lay on the ground, wisps of smoke rising from his singed fur. The hedge-fox sat up with some assistance and tried to persuade the bluebirds circling his head to leave him alone.
"Although," he burbled. "I am a fast learner."
"That's what I was trying to tell you!" the professor explained. "Robotnik was able to record you two with some kind of videohugenflugel. That's how he could contructamajig zis cagenthing."
"He musta put some kind of current through the metal," Tails pondered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's done the same with the floor beneath the layer we're standing on too, in case we try going down."
Sonic shook his head and slowly picked himself up. "Are you saying that this cell is hedgehog-proof?"
Tails nodded. "Looks like it. And fox proof. Without any tools, I don't see how I could stop the current long enough for us to cut through the bars."
Sonic thought for a second. "Okay. This is just a minor setback." He paced up and down the metal floor, the soles of his sneakers squeaking as the rubber made contact with it. "There's a way outta here. I know it. Just give me some time to think."
After a few seconds of fast pacing, Sonic snapped his fingers together. "I've got it! Listen close, cuz it may be a long shot."
The fast-thinking, fast-moving hero gathered the three of them into a close huddle and began to whisper the specifics of his idea to his two companions.
xXxXx
Scratch pushed open the oak door to the fortress' prison chamber, allowing Grounder to wheel inside.. The shorter of the two carried a tray with three bowls on top of it. The two Badniks had purposely made sure to concoct the best worst meal that their limited cooking skills could muster, and judging from the viscous opaque mush that was clinging to the inside of each dish, they had certainly accomplished their goal.
"Hey, losers! Here's lunch," they chimed.
Grounder moved closer to the cage centered in the chamber and slid the tray beneath a small gap in the metal bars. Sonic took one of the bowls and gave it a tentative sniff. His nose felt as though it was about to drop off.
"Phew!" he gagged. "What is this stuff?"
"It's a special recipe, made just for you three," Scratch answered cheerfully.
"Aw, you shouldn't have." The now fox paused. "Seriously. You shouldn't have."
"Well, eat up, because you won't be doing it again for a long time," Grounder said with a smirk.
Sonic shook his head and smiled. "Nah, we're good, thanks. We were actually thinkin' of grabbing a bite when we escape."
"Oh, okay then," Scratch replied pleasantly. "Come on, Grounder, let's go back upstairs. Maybe Dr. Robotnik has something rotten for us to do."
The robot's non-identical twin nodded in consent and followed as Scratch opened the door to the dungeons. Sonic watched as the door closed behind them, nonchalantly lifting a hand to his face as if to check his nails.
"Five...four...three...two...one," he counted softly.
A mad pattering of footsteps across a concrete floor echoed throughout the room, gaining in volume before a distraught Scratch and Grounder burst into the room.
"'Escape'?!" the rooster spluttered. "You!? Escape?!"
"That's the idea," Sonic replied, shrugging his shoulders. "We got it all figured out as soon as we got here."
Grounder shook his head repeatedly, struggling to process this new information. "B-but," he stammered, desperation straining his voice chip. "This cell is supposed to be inescapable!"
"And I'm supposed to be a hedgehog," Sonic said, deadpan. "What's your point?"
"We want to know just how you intend to do it!" Scratch answered.
Sonic grunted and turned his back to them. "You guys think I'm stupid enough to tell you that? I'm insulted!"
"Ooh please," Grounder uttered with a pitiful squeal. "Please tell us! We don't want to get into trouble!"
"Pretty please?" Scratch attempted.
The hero of Mobius turned to look at the two Badniks. Both robotic life forms had their hands clasped together, pleading with him to tell them his scheme. He sighed with as much drama as he could muster.
"Okay, fine. I'll tell ya. But you've gotta promise to keep it to yourselves."
Scratch and Grounder crossed their fingers behind their backs. "Agreed," they replied simultaneously.
"Okay then," Sonic said with a nod. He beckoned them forward with his fingers. "Come closer to the cell."
The two Badniks leaned in, straining to block out any noise that could prevent them from hearing their enemy's top secret escape plan. Sonic checked to make sure that no one else was listening. He looked up, down, and all around before whispering into their audio receptors. "The cell's defective."
Scratch and Grounder blinked stupidly for a couple of seconds. "Come again?" the rooster asked.
"The cell has a couple of flaws in its design - the thing's defective," Sonic repeated.
"How so?" Grounder questioned.
"You know how these bars are supposed to be electrified?"
They both nodded.
"Well they ain't," Sonic continued. "That's how we're gonna escape. Won't take more than a Sonic spin to break through these things." He smiled and stood away from the two. "Heck, I could probably do it with my bare hands!"
Scratch snorted with disbelief. "You're bluffing. As if we're going to fall for something like that!"
"Yeah," Grounder agreed. "What do take us for?"
Sonic shook his head and raised his hands in defeat. "You don't believe me? Fine. I don't really care." He raised a finger and pointed it at them. "But, say I'm right. Are you really gonna allow us to escape when you had the chance to stop us? Cuz, you know, I'd really like to see how Robotnik would take that."
This simple mention of their master's name was enough for both Badniks' eyes to grow to the size of dinner plates. The cybernetic duo turned away from the prisoners and whispered frantically among themselves.
"What do we do, Scratch?" the tank-bot begged. "I don't want Dr. Robotnik to yell at me again!"
The rooster Badnik shook his head and closed his eyes. "Grounder, you are so gullible."
"Gulli-what-able?" the former's brother said, scratching his dome.
Scratch leaned in closer to prevent anyone else from hearing his next words. "Its so obvious. Sonic is trying to convince us to walk away by telling us that we'll get into trouble if we do walk away. He doesn't want us to check the cell."
"He doesn't?" Grounder questioned.
Winking, Scratch left their hushed debate and strolled over to the cell with Grounder following. "Nice try, hedgehog," he sneered with an oily smile. "We know that you were trying to convince us to walk away by trying to convince us to stay. Well, guess what? We're going to check your cell anyway!"
Sonic sighed and lowered his head, a ghost of a smile tracing his lips. "All right. You got me. You guys are way too smart for me."
Scratch and Grounder widened their smiles and grabbed hold of the cell bars. According to their prisoner, they were inactive.
So imagine their surprise when tens of thousands of electrical output coursed through their metallic limbs. The Badniks screeched with surprise as the energy passed through their bodies and back into the cell bars, conducting the electricity and creating a high voltage feedback loop. Sparks shot out of their sound receptors as hundreds of volts of electricity fed into both of their bodies, the two squealing as they received the shocks of their lives.
xXxXx
Agitated by the additional supply of energy from the robots' batteries, the generator in the basement that provided the charge to the cell bars crackled with excess power. No one was there to witness the turbine fizzle and grind to a halt, eliminating the current.
xXxXx
The trio of prisoners watched with amusement as the robot pair were blasted across the room, where they impacted hard against a brick wall. Both of them slid to the ground in a heap, leaving a pair of blackened Scratch and Grounder shaped imprints against the surface.
Sonic rubbed a finger beneath his nose. "I guess the shock of being right was too much for 'em."
"Literally," Tails agreed, screwing up his face in disgust at the invading reek of barbecued robot parts that penetrated his olfactory senses. "Great plan, Sonic! How did you know it was gonna work?"
"Come on, dude. This is Scratch and Grounder we're talkin' about here," Sonic answered. He walked over to Tails and plucked a blue quill from his back, flexing it against his finger to test its durability. He then walked over to the cell door and jammed the quill inside of the lock.
"Now, just a little jiggle here, and a little jiggle there," he murmured, twisting the quill inside of the keyhole. His efforts were rewarded with a loud clicking noise. He pushed against the door, which opened with no trouble. "And presto! Hey, Tails, help me grab the dumb-bots and drag them into the cell."
"Got it!" the hero in training responded. The three of them tugged upon the deactivated robots and managed to put them inside of the cage. Tails fished inside of Grounder's chest compartment, removing a key. He used it to unlock the padlocks on each of their chains, and then to lock the two Badniks inside of the cage in their place. "Boy, are they going to be in for a surprise when they wake up!" he said with a grin.
"Right now, though, we've gotta get down to business," Sonic said. He turned to Von Schlemmer. "Professor? Do you think you could reverse the Mind Scrambler upstairs so that it only affects the inside of the fortress?"
The shock-haired scientist considered the thought. "Maybe. If I could reconwhatsit the doodleloodle, it shouldn't be a problem. Why?"
"Oh, no reason. Just wanted to let our host in on the fun that we've been having," Sonic said with his patented smirk.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Tails exclaimed.
Sonic smiled, feeling that familiar rush of adrenaline that he couldn't live without. "Let's blaze some trails and spin some tails!"
Tails grabbed hold of Sonic and the professor's arms, spinning his feet like a wheel. "Okay, Sonic! Here we go!"
The fox-hog blasted off and crashed through the wooden door, reducing it to a large collection of matchsticks and splinters. Once again, it was time to do that hero thing they did so well.
END CHAPTER
AN: That's another one down. Not much left now of the remaining chapters. I hope you like it, thanks for reading, and thanks to those who reviewed/followed! I appreciate it :D