Dr. Eggman smiled evilly as he typed in the coordinates onto the robot he was working on. Shadow loomed in the background, watching and waiting. The obese doctor typed in a few more numbers, and then he pressed the start button and the robot whirred to life. It turned to face Eggman and saluted him.
"Now remember, grab the pregnant female and get out of there as soon as possible! I don't want to attract too much attention or give her a chance to escape!" Eggman commanded to the robot. The robot finished its salute and spoke.
"Yes, my master!" it said, in a dark and metallic voice, and then it turned and jetted off, crashing through the ceiling. Eggman shielded his head from falling debris, growling "stupid robot" under his breath, before he turned to Shadow.
"Don't forget, once she arrives, you have full responsibility of her," he reminded the black hedgehog, who sighed and grumbled. "You're not to let her out of your sight!"
"Don't remind me," Shadow seethed, folding his arms where he stood and looking to the side. "I hope I know what I'm doing," he thought to himself, as a small twinge of worry actually popped into his mind. He sensed something was amiss, like something wasn't going to go well today.
"Do I have to?" Knuckles asked Ruby, who stood by the door. Knuckles sat on the couch, holding a coat in his hands. It'd come time for Knuckles' C-section date, which happened to be around mid-January. Knuckles' belly was as big as it could get, and he was basically fed up with being pregnant by now.
Ruby put a hand to her hip in an un-amused manner. "Yes, Tails specifically said he needs you at his house for the operation," she replied, opening the door and letting in the wintery breeze. Knuckles lowered his eyes and put on the coat, which only made him look more ridiculous, and he pushed with both hands to stand himself up.
"Don't worry, it'll only be Tails, Sonic, and I. Nobody else," Ruby assured. Knuckles sighed and walked up to Ruby, who gave him a little smile, before the two of them headed out.
As they walked, Ruby realized that it was completely silent, and she looked to Knuckles. He was walking with his head down and his hands in his pockets, completely silent, probably in thought. Ruby cleared her throat to break the silence.
"Just think, this time tomorrow, we're gonna' be parents!" she said, hugging Knuckles' arm.
"Yeah," he replied, his breath billowing out in a small puff of fog. He looked to Ruby and gave her a sympathy smile, though he was feeling very distracted and worried, and he kissed her forehead.
Eggman's robot flew through the trees, scanning the area for the coordinates assigned. And then, it found the mobians it was looking for. They were walking below on the sidewalk. The robot's glass eyes lit up red, as it scanned the two of them for the pregnant one. A moment later, it found its subject.
"Gestation detected, capture and report back to base," it said in its metallic voice, and it swooped down towards the two walking mobians.
Ruby's ear twitched at the sound of rockets, and she looked back and gasped.
"Look out!" she cried, and she pulled Knuckles aside, as a large, silver-grey robot swooped past them and rocketed forward. Ruby and Knuckles panted in fear, hand in hand, as they stared at the robot flying by.
"What is that?" Knuckles asked.
"I don't know," Ruby started. The robot stopped and turned around, facing the two of them.
"Capture and report back to base!" the robot repeated, and it rushed towards them again.
"…But whatever it is, RUN!" Ruby shouted, and the two of them dodged the robot and ran for Tails' house, where he and Sonic were. Ruby ran with Knuckles' hand in hers, with Knuckles lagging behind. For anyone who doesn't know, running while pregnant is very hard, and sometimes painful. Knuckles was huffing loudly, and was unsure how much longer he was going to be able to keep this up. He could hear Ruby shouting to him as she practically dragged him; "C'mon, we're almost there, don't give up!" she cried. But then, Knuckles felt terrible pain run up and down his legs and stomach, and he cried out in agony, letting go of his wife's hand and falling to the ground on his knees. Ruby stopped and looked back, screaming Knuckles' name, tears in her eyes. But it was too late, the robot reached down and grabbed Knuckles around the middle. Knuckles cried out at first, when it grabbed him tightly around the belly, and then he looked to Ruby. "If you want him back, take it up with the almighty Doctor Eggman!" the robot bellowed, and in a puff of smoke, it jetted off into the sky, leaving Ruby alone. She could hear Knuckles' voice echo as everything went back to calm, calling her name. Ruby stared up at the sky with tears in her eyes, but then she clenched her fists and growled, furrowing her eyebrows in anger. A tear still rolled down her cheek, but she wasn't about to lose her husband and children like this.
Sonic was watching Tails ready all of his medical equipment in the garage. Tails pulled out a set of operating scalpels, when Sonic asked a question.
"You know why things seem so odd Tails?" he asked.
"Uh, your guy-friend is pregnant with twins?" he asked sarcastically. Sonic shook his head.
"No no, it's not that. It's Eggman. I haven't seen eye or tail of him for, like, two years!" he said. "Huh, I wonder if he finally gave up?" he added with a shrug. But that's when suddenly, Ruby burst in the front door, shouting for Sonic. Sonic flinched from being startled and called "I'm coming," unsure if this was an emergency or not, and he speed-walked out of the garage. He found Ruby standing in the doorway, panting with tears in her eyes. Sonic rand up to her and took her hands in his.
"Ruby! What's wrong?" he asked her.
"It's Eggman! He's kidnapped Knuckles!" she cried, staring up at him with wet eyes. "Great! I should've known he'd never give up on being evil!" Sonic thought. He looked back at Ruby and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Don't worry, I'll get him back!" he said. Tails came out of the garage with his briefcase.
"I'm coming too!" he said. "Those two babies are due any time now, you'll need me." Ruby nodded.
"Thank you, thank you!" she said, and she turned to leave.
"Whoa whoa, where are you going?" Sonic asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"He's my husband! No way am I staying behind!" Ruby replied sternly, shaking Sonic's hand from her shoulder.
"Are you… sure you want to come?" Sonic asked. Ruby gave him a look.
"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she said, and she headed out the door, followed by the hedgehog and fox.
The robot headed back to the base, carrying its captive with it. Knuckles pushed and pulled with all his might to free himself from the robot's iron grip, but with no prevail. He feared that the robot's tight grip would hurt the babies, for they had not moved an inch the entire time, which worried him. Knuckles bit his lip and prayed. "Please don't kill them, please!" he thought.
The robot arrived at Dr. Eggman's base, and it crashed through the ceiling again and landed in the middle of the room.
"Mission successful, master!" the robot said, and it held Knuckles out toward a chair on one side of the room. The chair had its back turned to them, but then it turned around, revealing Eggman. He cackled evilly, and stepped into the light of the two holes in the ceiling. But then, his eyes widened and he slapped his face irritably.
"You bumbling piece of machinery! I said to get me the pregnant girl, not him!" he shouted at the robot. Shadow stepped into the room at the sound of the doctor shouting angrily.
"But sir, I have done as you commanded, sir," the robot said, and suddenly released its grip on the prisoner. Knuckles yelped and fell to the floor and immediately checked to make sure the babies were ok. He felt tiny movements, which relieved him, and when he looked up, Eggman was staring at him with wide eyes. Eggman bent down to have a closer look, and then he poked Knuckles' belly hard, causing Knuckles to wince, and then growl at him. Shadow stepped up to the doctor, looking from the man to the echidna. He wasn't as flustered by this, but he normally didn't show much emotion anyways. He made eye contact with the angry and scared echidna, and they shared a sense of curiosity for a split second, before Eggman broke their concentration.
"Extraordinary!" Eggman commented. "You are a male… and yet you conceive! Oh, Shadow!" he said, when he found the dark hedgehog standing next to him. "Look at this. Isn't it is very absurd?" he asked the hedgehog. Eggman reached out to touch Knuckles' belly, but the pregnant echidna growled in his throat and swung at the doctor with his fist to keep him away, but the robot grabbed Knuckles' arms to keep him from attacking or running. Eggman could now do whatever he wished to the echidna. He reached to his tool belt and brought out a tape measure, and wrapped it around the echidna's waist and around the widest part of his belly. Knuckles looked to Shadow with pleading eyes, hoping he'd come and help, but Shadow only stood there and watched. He looked back at the obese doctor when he felt him tightly squeeze his belly in one hand.
"Get away from me!" Knuckles snapped, and he kicked at the doctor. Eggman walked back up to Shadow, turning his back on the echidna, and looked at the number on the measure.
"He's huge! He must be having twins! Or triplets!" Eggman whispered to Shadow.
"Seems pretty accurate," Shadow replied.
"No matter, the plan will still work with him instead of the girl," Eggman said to the hedgehog. "But how does he conceive? Can he technically have a vaginal birth? Or does he need a cesarean?" he thought. All questions he needed to figure out, and soon. "Maybe I should at least be present during the birthing process, ok?" he whispered to the black hedgehog, who huffed and nodded. Then Eggman turned around to face the echidna with a smile on his face.
"Right," he said, loudly clapping his hands together, "Let's get started, shall we? I'm sure your friends will be here soon to find you." Knuckles gulped and felt his heart leap in fear and the babies kick nervously, sensing their mommy's fear.
Sonic, Ruby, and Tails made it to Eggman's base and rushed inside, dodging badniks and other robots in security, and headed straight into the base. It didn't take long for them to find the cells, where Eggman usually kept prisoners. They tiptoed among iron-bar cell after cell, looking for one that was occupied. Ruby whispered Knuckles' name, hoping he'd reply. And then, they heard clanking in one cell in the corner. They all ran up to it and found Knuckles bound by chains on the hands and feet and gagged with a cloth around his mouth. Knuckles looked up when Sonic shook the door, to try and break the lock. The pregnant echidna shook his head and tried to speak through the cloth, to warn them, but they couldn't understand what he was saying. Sonic took one final pull, and the door fell from its hinges and landed with a clank on the ground.
"That was almost too easy," Sonic pointed out, before he continued. Tails then ran inside and pulled out a hand-held laser and cut through the metal cuffs on his wrists and feet, while Sonic kept watch, and Ruby came up to Knuckles and untied the gag around his mouth. Immediately, Knuckles sucked in a short breath and shouted, "No, it's a trap!" And the moment he did, robots came and surrounded them from all sides, ambushing with sirens wailing, and they began grabbing each of the mobians so they couldn't attack or escape. Knuckles was free from all his cuffs except one on one hand, and he was shouting "No, stop, leave them alone!" while he yanked on his wrist, and finally ripped the chain from the wall. Ruby was fighting against the grip of one robot, and she punched the robot, destroying a critical panel on its chest that delayed it, and she took that as an opportunity and ran towards Knuckles, calling his name. Knuckles reached out with one hand, and so did Ruby. Their hands were so close to touching, when a different robot grabbed her around her waist and lifted her into the air. Now robots covered every inch of the room and every exit; none of them could possibly escape now. With Ruby and the others screaming in fear, and Knuckles unable to run, Eggman stepped out of the shadows, along with Shadow the hedgehog, and he spoke.
"Alright robots, at ease!" he said, and the robots stopped their loud sirens and held the three still in their tight grips. Sonic growled and looked up at the fat man.
"Well well, eggbutt! So nice to see you again!" Sonic sneered, and he proceeded to stick out his tongue. Eggman remained quite vigilant, but also kept a calm face.
"Sonic, you're 21 years old. I would have thought you've grown a bit more mature than that!" he said quietly, folding his hands.
"Let us go!" Tails cried, wiggling in the robot's grip. Eggman chuckled slightly under his breath and looked directly at the fox with a disturbing smile.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. All four of you have a date with my roboticizer," he said.
"You can't do this!" Ruby cried. "My husband is heavily pregnant, and is about to have our kits! Please, have mercy!"
"When will you realize that I don't have any mercy?" Eggman commented. Then he looked to Shadow, who stepped forward. "Besides, I have that all planned out and covered," he said with a smile. "I will birth your kits and kill them, then I will roboticize all four of you, and you all will be my slaves for all of eternity!" Eggman said. Knuckles backed up a step and snarled.
"Don't you dare touch me, or my kits!" he snapped, furrowing his brow in anger. Eggman snapped his fingers, and two robots came up from behind him and grabbed his arms.
"Oh, don't worry, it'll all be over before you have a chance to miss them," Eggman sneered, and one of the robots rammed Knuckles in the head with its arm, and everything went dark.