(Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters, all credit goes to Sega. Please support the official release).
Chapter 6: Separation Anxiety
After having dinner one evening, Gwen sat on the couch alongside Eggman as they watched a children's movie in the lounge, she sat in his lap whilst he raised a hand to gently start scratching her head and behind her ears. He smirked as he watched the young hedgehog melting and purring like a kitten under his fingers.
With a warm feeling blossoming in his chest, Eggman pulled the light blue hedgehog closer to his side, extending his scratches from Gwen's head to her abdomen. The young hedgehog stretched out onto his lap and moaned with pleasure, eyes drooping as the calming stokes relaxed her further.
Eggman felt his heart flutter; just when it seemed the hoglet couldn't get any cuter, Gwen would do something like this, and it made the doctor's heart melt into mush and draw out a strong desire to protect his child from all harm.
While Eggman was dealing with his paternal feelings, Gwen concluded that her Papa's fingers were like magic because their gentle touch always seemed to make her melt into a little puddle.
Her ears lazily twitched to the sound of sweet nothings Eggman was whispering to her, "Such a cute baby. So precious. My sweet pea, my pretty princess. Look at all that soft fur and that cute little nose", he said. Gwen smiled and blushed behind, loving the attention that made her stomach all fuzzy and warm.
Several minutes later, she let out a big yawn, rubbing her eyes, and snuggling closer to Eggman. The doctor lovingly patted the young hedgehog's head and scooped her into his arms, "Bedtime, little one", he said.
Gwen didn't argue, instead she nuzzled Eggman's chest and grabbed ahold of her caregiver like a baby koala. Picking the hoglet up, Eggman rubbed her back, kissing her temple as he carried her over to her bedroom.
He laid her down in her bed, slipping Egglet in between her arms. He then tucked her in before turning on the music player to play soft soothing music, "Goodnight, my little one. Sweet dreams, I'll see you in the morning", said Eggman.
Gwen let out a tiny yawn as she snuggled under the blanket with her beloved stuffed dog, "Goodnight, Papa. I love you", she murmured.
"I love you too, baby girl", said Eggman as he kissed her cheek one more time before turning off the lights and leaving.
Eggman then summoned Metal Sonic and handed him a piece of paper, "Metal, we're all out of eggs, butter and oat milk. I'm going to need you to pick some up for me, alright. It's not that late in the evening so there may be some shops still open", he said.
Metal nodded as he took the piece of paper and Eggman's wallet, and flew off to the nearest town, which was Windmill Village. Eggman looked back into the bedroom and smiled as he saw Gwen sleeping peacefully before walking away.
Gwen sucked on her thumb and turned to her side, grabbing Egglet and cuddling the plush dog as she laid fast asleep with a smile, not knowing that her peaceful slumber would be interrupted in the next few hours.
[Time Skip]
Metal Sonic flew into Windmill Village, immediately scaring the few villagers who were still out and about that evening. As they all ran to hide from the robotic hedgehog, Metal walked over to a nearby grocery store and stepped inside.
The shopkeeper nearly jumped out of his skin upon seeing Metal Sonic, but was confused as he watched him shuffle through the store. He watched him grab a carton of oat milk, a carton of eggs and some butter.
Then, as Metal Sonic walked over to the counter, he spotted something out of the corner of his optics. On a shelf near the counter were colorfully wrapped chocolate bunnies, Metal thought that they would make the perfect treat for Gwen, so he took one.
He then finally went up to the counter and placed the items down. Still fearful and apprehensive, the shopkeeper scanned the items and rang them up. "That'll be $8.75...please...", he mumbled as he placed the items into bags.
Metal Sonic took out the wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill, handing it to the shopkeeper. He took the money and opened the register, he tried to give Metal the change, but he shook his head and simply took the bags.
As Metal Sonic left the grocery store, he was unaware of a Lazer Wisp watching him from out of sight. As he took off into the air, the Lazer Wisp flew after him, taking care to trail him closely while also remaining out of sight. The Lazer Wisp eventually tracked Metal Sonic down to a base high up in the mountains near White Acropolis.
It then flew back towards the Restoration HQ, where Sonic and Co. were all gathered together finalizing their plans. The Lazer Wisp then flew in through the window and approached Whisper, speaking to her in its strange alien language.
"Good work, little one. Eggman's base is in the mountains near White Acropolis, he says he saw Metal Sonic leaving Windmill Village after buying some things from a grocery store", she said.
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Rouge all looked at each other, modding in agreement as they knew it was time to put their plan into action.
"Ok, guys, let's go over the plan one more time to make sure we're all clear before we go. Knuckles, Amy, Sonic and I will attack the main entrance and create a distraction.
"While we're doing that, Rouge and Shadow will sneak in and find the kid. Now, considering she's been around Eggman for this long, she might a bit uncooperative and aggressive.
"So, you might have to sedate her if she doesn't come willingly...but please be careful and don't hurt her. It's not this kid's fault that Eggman had influenced her", said Tails.
Everyone nodded as they accepted their roles in the plan, "Don't worry, hun. The kid will be safe with us," Rouge reassured with a soft voice. Shadow nodded firmly with her in affirmation.
"Thanks...I estimate we have about ten minutes after the first alarms go off before the base goes into lockdown, or Eggman realizes what's going on and puts the kid somewhere where we can't reach her. That's not a lot of time, so do your jobs quickly. Now any questions?", said Tails.
All shake their heads, Tails stood straight looking over his friends, almost like a general looking over his soldiers preparing for battle.
"Then let's move on out, people!"
The team all climbed into the Tornado, mentally preparing themselves for the struggle ahead. As Tails sat in the pilot's seat, flying the plane, he looked over at Sonic who had a look of determination on his face, keeping his eyes on the sky. Tails could only assume that after his experience with the Metal Virus, Sonic was determined not to let Eggman hurt another innocent soul again.
And he couldn't blame him for feeling that way, especially after what had happened to Cream's mother and Charmy, along with many other kids.
Amy sat behind him, hoping the poor child was alright and that Eggman hadn't done anything to hurt her while trying to brainwash the kid into being his little minion.
Knuckles stood on one wing of the plane stoically, keeping a hand on the body of the aircraft to help steady himself during the small bouts of turbulence and itching to crush any Badniks that stood in his way.
Rouge flew next to the other wing of the plane where Shadow stood straight with his arms crossed and his signature glare. Everyone was determined to capture Eggman and rescue the child he supposedly kidnapped, not knowing the full truth.
[Time Skip]
Shadow's eyes sharpened in attention as he saw the base in the distance and prayed that all would go well tonight. Rouge had similar thoughts as she descended along with the biplane into a small clearing not far from the base.
No one wanted the poor child inside to end up getting hurt or worse due to this rescue operation going wrong.
Rouge's wings fluttered as she gracefully landed, waiting for the Tornado to come to a stop before everyone else joined her. She checked her nails with disinterest in the moonlight as the rest of the group hurried to her spot.
She then looked up to see Tails give a hand signal when they were within viewing distance. She nodded once, acknowledging she saw the sign before running ahead and taking the lead. Silently, they run through the forest while looking for any evidence of Badniks that may be out on patrol beyond the perimeter fence.
Such a thing was unlikely given how late it was, but in a high-stakes mission, one can never be too careful.
They reached the fence with no issues. Those who could fly lifted and carried their partners to the other side; Knuckles went underground, and after a quick check to see if they were being watched, Tails had them regroup.
Taking out his Miles Electric and showing a map of the compound, he looked to the others. "Ok, this is where we split up. Shadow, you and Rouge know what to do. Make sure not to get spotted", he said.
The two G.U.N. agents nodded in acknowledgement before Tails turned to face everyone else, "Excellent. We'll take it from here", he said, putting his Miles Electric away. He waved for Sonic, Knuckles and Amy to follow him.
The pink hedgehog lagged for a moment, "Please be careful!", she whispered to Shadow and Rouge. She was hoping they understood who she was directing her concerns to before she went to follow her group.
Shadow and Rouge stood watching the group head for their positions, listening to the soft hoots of owl while waiting for a few minutes. When the other part of their group finally disappeared around the corner of the base, the black and red hedgehog took Rouge's hand.
"Chaos Control!", whispered Shadow.
With a flash of light, the two reappeared in the base's ventilation system. Shadow bent down to crawl, entering one of the vent tunnels, and taking the lead, scuttling through the maze. A minute later, he stopped before a vent cover and peered down into what looked like a child's bedroom.
Gently, Shadow took off the cover, set it aside, and then dropped silently into the room. Rouge landed next to him, her wings fluttering slightly from the draft of air from the fall.
"Go grab some of the toys and other stuff. I'll wake the kid", Shadow whispered to her.
He then walked over to the bed, he reached over to shake the child awake but pulled back and hesitated, looking at the lump with a regretful expression.
This was Shadow's first time seeing the child that Eggman had supposedly abducted, he was taken aback by how relaxed, content, and peaceful the young girl looked, thumb in her mouth while cuddling her stuffed dog and wrapped in a pink blanket.
Shadow couldn't believe this child was being held hostage and possibly mistreated by Eggman, she didn't look like a child who was being mistreated and the rather nicely kept bedroom she was sleeping in helped to further cause doubt.
Steeling himself, Shadow reached out and gently shook the light blue hedgehog's shoulder.
"Huh? Wha? What's happ'n?", a groggy Gwen slurred, rubbing her eyes, confused that she had been woken up when she was very much still tired. It felt like she had only just fallen asleep a few minutes ago, and it was still dark out save for the moonlight.
"Come on, kiddo. You have to get up. We don't have much time!", Shadow hushed while checking over his shoulder to see how soon Rouge would be done packing.
Gwen's confusion vanished as she was snapped out of her sleep induced stupor, and her heartbeat picked up hearing an unfamiliar grumpy voice. She looked up and saw a black and red hedgehog standing by her bed, looking down at her.
The light blue hedgehog scooted to the far end of her bed, wide awake, and futilely trying to shield herself behind her stuffed dog.
"Wha...what's going on here? Who are you?!"
"Look, we don't have much time to explain-"
"WE?!"
Rouge voiced her presence at that point, breaking up the awkward conversation between the two hedgehogs, "Hey there, sweetheart! Sorry for the wake-up call, but it's kind of urgent", she said.
Gwen gasped like a fish out of water, trying to figure out what these two strangers were doing in her bedroom in the middle of the night.
"Who are you people?!", she said as she shook with fear.
"Calm down, kiddo. It's okay, we're not going to hurt you", said Shadow calmly, hoping his tone would keep the child from panicking too much. He then reached over to try to pick her up, "I'm sure you're confused and wondering what's going on, and we can explain later, but right now, we need to get you out of here."
"No! No! No! I'm not going anywhere with you! You must work with those scary men who killed my parents and put me in a cage so you could sell me! Papa, help me!", Gwen shouted as tears of fright appeared in her eyes.
Shadow looked at Rouge at a bit of a loss; she checked her watch before shrugging, "She's not cooperating, so I guess you don't have any other choice now", she said sadly. Shadow sighed heavily as he pulled something out from his quills.
He then grabbed Gwen by the back of her shirt, trying hard not to hurt her. She squirmed and wiggled to get away from the black and red hedgehog, but Shadow had a firm grip on her as he pulled her to his torso.
Gwen kicked at him with her little legs, throwing her head back and screaming for Eggman to save her but then she was cut off by a funny smelling piece of cloth being held over her mouth; she scrunched up her face at the awful smell.
Gwen turned her head side to side to get away from it but the more she breathed, the weaker and more lightheaded she felt. With the disorienting surroundings and the chemical she was breathing in, she quickly forgot what was happening and why she was so scared.
Her eyes fell half-lidded, and then she stopped struggling as she lost consciousness. "Finally!", Shadow breathed out. He looked over to Rouge who had packed up a bag with some toys and grabbed the stuffed dog from the bed.
"We've got her, now let's get going", said Rouge. Shadow nodded as he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Gwen to keep her from being exposed to the chilly night time air. They both then teleported outside via Chaos Control and immediately spotted the others by the entrance.
Metal Sonic was laying off to the side, having been deactivated by Tails, while Eggman had been pinned down to the ground by Sonic and Knuckles. The doctor struggled to look up and gasped when he saw Gwen nestled in Shadow's arms.
"No, please! Don't take her from me, she's my baby girl! You can't separate us, I'm begging you!", he pleaded as he squirmed.
No one listened to his pleas as Rouge radioed ahead to G.U.N. HQ to send a transport vehicle. Then, everyone was shocked by what Eggman did next: he suddenly broke down crying. They didn't know what to do or even say...they just watched him awkwardly while waiting for the transport vehicle to arrive.
[Time Skip]
A few hours later, everyone had reconvened at G.U.N. HQ to discuss the situation. Eggman was placed inside an interrogation room while Gwen was laying in a bed in the infirmary.
"I can't believe he actually cried and begged us to stop, I felt like I was imagining things when I saw that", said Knuckles.
Sonic looked at Eggman through the two way mirror, "He seemed genuinely upset when we took the girl away, you guys don't think...", he trailed off.
Amy shook her head, "Come on, Sonic. Be serious for a moment, Eggman would never develop a genuine bond with anyone, let alone a small child. Maybe back when he was Mr. Tinker, but definitely not now!", she said.
"I'm just saying...he seemed to react pretty strongly to us taking her for someone he was just brainwashing to be his evil apprentice. He acted almost exactly how any parent would react to having their child taken from them", said Sonic.
Just then, a G.U.N. soldier approached Shadow whilst holding a file folder in his hands. "We raided the base and inspected it, this folder contains some photos that were taken. You might to have a look at them yourself", he said.
Shadow took the folder and opened it up, he gasped at what he saw in the photos. There was one of Gwen's bedroom with the lights fully turned on so it could be seen, another of the playroom Eggman made on her birthday and another of the half finished Roboticizer.
Shadow looked back and forth between the photos and Eggman, "I'll go in and interrogate him myself. One of you needs to question the girl and get her side of the story, be gentle with her since she might still be in a state of shock", he said.
[Time Skip]
Wakefulness was a long and sluggish process, each minute felt like days, and each second could have been hours in Gwen's mind as she floated in between a state of consciousness and dreaming.
The process it took for her brain to register that it was time to wake up rolled about for eons before it sunk in, and she noticed light coming from beyond her closed eyes.
She tentatively opened them, only to close them again due to still being weighted under the effects of a drug induced sleep; Gwen moaned softly, willing her stiff arms to her head and rubbing tiny fists against her eyes.
Opening her eyes again felt more manageable this time, and she breathed in the refreshing morning air coming from the cracked open window. Rolling to her side, the young hedgehog squinted at a fuzzy blue body sitting in the chair next to her bed.
"Mmph, wha?"
Sonic looked up from the book he was reading to see that his guest had awoken at last. He closed the book and set it down on a nearby table, "Hey there, kiddo. How are you feeling?", he asked with a soft tone.
"Ohhhh," Gwen groaned, letting a hand rest under her head, replying slowly with a horse voice "...what happened?"
"What do you remember?"
"Uh...I...you-", Gwen slurred and absently smacked her dry lips and then pulled back suddenly when a hand with a glass of water appeared before her face.
After blinking warily at the glass for a few minutes, her mind connected the offered water before her to the blue hedgehog holding it, and she took it. She gulped down the liquid once it touched her tongue, not realizing how thirsty she was before giving the glass back.
The cold drink refreshed and woke her up further as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Thank you. A black and red hedgehog and a white bat came into my room when I was sleeping. They tried to take me away, I got scared and started screaming. Then it gets all...fuzzy after that", she said.
Sonic nodded, then he watched as the young girl looked around in confusion. "Where am I? Am I in that dark place where the scary men keep kids in cages and sell them?", she asked fearfully.
Sonic gave her a concerned look but then he tried to ease her worries with a friendly smile, "No, of course not. You're in a...a hospital! Yeah, my friends and I wanted to make sure you were okay so we brought you here", he said.
That seemed to calm Gwen down a little but she still looked afraid, "Where's my Papa? When can I see him?", she asked.
Sonic sighed as he ran a hand through his quills, "Say kiddo, why don't you tell me your name and what you were doing with Eggman first before we talk about anything else?", he said.
Meanwhile in the interrogation room...
"I'm telling you that I was not planning on roboticizing that girl nor was I brainwashing her to be my minion! She's seriously my child!"
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe. So you're going to start from the beginning: tell me where you found this girl, where her parents are, what you've been doing with this girl and why you were building a new Roboticizer"
Shadow had taken over interrogating Eggman to get answers from him about Gwen, still convinced that he had sinister intentions despite the doctor's claims otherwise.
Eggman sighed deeply and started explaining himself. He told Shadow about how he found Gwen alone, starving and injured in the mountains a few months ago, how he saved her from getting killed by a bear and then later saved her from hypothermia when she went to play in the snow with Metal Sonic.
He told him about how he took care of her while she was sick and injured, how he made her that playroom as a birthday present, how he showered her with love and affection. He even told Shadow about the fight they had because she was upset with him for spending less time playing with her and more time working on the Roboticizer.
"And I was building a new and improved version that could help amputees, not to turn people into robot slaves. But I realized that Gwen and I should've spent more time together, so I reworked my schedule to spend more time with her.
"Ever since, we've been happily spending time together and bonding. I built her that playroom as a birthday present and I recently took her to see a Chao Garden for the first time in here life", said Eggman.
Shadow looked at him straight in the face, he could tell that he wasn't lying or trying to deceive him, he was telling the truth. "What about her parents? Where are they?", he asked.
Eggman sighed, "They're dead, Shadow. And no, I'm not lying about this nor was I the one responsible for their deaths, this came straight from Gwen herself. She told me on the day she recovered from the bear attack that she used to live on a small farm with her parents and that they were happy despite being poor.
"Then one day, some "scary men" came and murdered Gwen's parents before kidnapping her. She said they kept her in a cage along with other children, so I can only assume she was taken by Black Market slave traders.
"She said they abused her and were going to sell her off when the slave traders were suddenly attacked by Zombots. Gwen took advantage of the confusion and escaped, taking a knife to protect herself as she made sure she got far away from them as possible", he said.
Shadow sighed as he looked away for a moment, he slid the photos back into the folder and began walking towards the door to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?", asked Eggman.
"I need to discuss with the others about all this, you stay here for the time being", replied Shadow.
"Can I see Gwen then?", Eggman asked as he looked at him with a pleading expression.
Shadow looked at him and couldn't help but feel sympathetic, he was reminded of the fear he had the day Space Colony Ark was raided, when he thought he would be separated from Maria. And then he had lost her, the pain he felt was the worst he had ever felt in his life.
"I don't know...just sit here and wait", said Shadow.
Eggman sighed heavily, letting out a cough to suppress a sob as he buried his face in his hands. Shadow looked away solemnly as he left the room; he walked over to where the others were, which was near the infirmary. He peered inside to see Gwen laying in her bed crying.
Sonic exited the room with an awkward look on his face, "Sonic, why is she crying?", asked Shadow.
"After she explained everything to me, she asked me if she could see her "Papa" again, to which I assumed she meant Eggman. I told her I didn't know, probably not any time soon and then she started crying", said Sonic.
"Why would you tell her that and upset her?", Shadow asked incredulously.
"Hey, I told her the truth. What did you want me to do, Shadow? Lie to a little kid about something this serious? Sorry, but I don't do that!", Sonic said just as incredulously.
Just then, they were joined by Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge.
"So what did the girl say? What did Eggman say?", asked Tails.
Both Sonic and Shadow took turns explaining to the others what they had heard from both the doctor and the young hedgehog.
"Well, it sounds like both their stories match", said Rouge.
Shadow turned to her, "Yes but just to make sure, I want you to search up if there are any isolated farms out in the countryside. If we can find Gwen's home and possibly her deceased parents, then we'll know for sure", he said.
Rouge nodded as she headed off to do as he asked, the others looked through the window of the infirmary and saw that Gwen had calmed down from her hysterical sobbing and was now quietly laying in bed as tears fell from her eyes.
"I feel so bad for her, she must've really bonded with Eggman", said Amy.
"Hard to believe Eggman could have any care or love in his heart for anyone, which is why I'm still not buying it. I'm still not convinced that Eggman didn't brainwash her", said Knuckles.
A few minutes later, Rouge came back with some papers in her hands. "Hey, turns out that I didn't have to search that long. After looking for isolated farms out in the countryside, I narrowed my search down to ones with small families.
"That narrowed my search down to two, one was owned by an elderly couple and the other one was owned by a middle aged couple. The latter also had only one child, a young girl who looks just like our little guest here", she said.
"That must've been the farm Gwen came from. So are her parents really...dead?", said Tails.
"If the slave traders just left their bodies lying there, then the group of G.U.N. soldiers that were sent out there will probably find them. Though...they're probably already decomposing by now", said Rouge.
Shadow sighed, "Very well then, I guess all we can do now is wait and see what to do next", he said.
"What about Gwen and Eggman?", asked Sonic.
"We have to keep them separated, orders from the commander directly. Even if Eggman was taking good care of the girl, there's still the matter of all that he's done recently and in the past. That cannot be overlooked", said Shadow.
"What do you mean?", asked Knuckles.
"Even if it turned out that everything is true, that Gwen's birth parents are dead and that Eggman was actually properly caring for her, all of Eggman's wrongdoings cannot be overlooked.
"Especially with the recent incident with the Metal Virus, we're all aware how many children as young as Gwen were either forced out of their homes to escape the Zombots or were turned into Zombots themselves.
"Best case scenario, Eggman could fight for custody of Gwen in court and maybe win. Worst case scenario, he'll be automatically sent to prison--possibly for life--and Gwen will end up in a foster home", explained Shadow.
[Time Skip]
A few hours later, Amy walked over to infirmary with a tray of food in her hands. She held the tray in one hand as she knocked on the door, trying not to startle the young child inside.
Then she grabbed the knob to open the door, "Hey, Gwen. I thought you'd be hungry, I brought you a grilled cheese sandwich, some yogurt and apple juice", she said as she opened the door. When Amy looked inside, she gasped in shock and dropped the tray on the floor.
She then ran to where the others were sitting, which was the employee break room. She burst in through the door, startling everyone inside.
"Whoa, Ames! Where's the fire? What's going on?", asked Sonic.
"It's Gwen! She's escaped from the infirmary!", shouted Amy.
"WHAT?!", shouted everyone as they raced over to the infirmary.
Gwen was indeed gone, the nearby window was open and the blanket on the bed was overturned. The only other thing missing was the stuffed dog she had with her.
"Darn it! I knew I shouldn't have opened the window when she asked me! I thought it was fishy when she asked me to open the window to get some fresh air!", said Sonic.
"I don't get it, though. Why would she just run away?", asked Knuckles.
"Isn't obvious? We separated her from Eggman, her adopted father essentially. I don't blame her for getting upset and running off.
"She lost her birth parents and then we took her away from the person who kindly took her in and raised her like his own, what kid wouldn't be upset?", said Tails.
"Tails is right, I think our actions may have caused Gwen unneeded stress and anxiety. The poor girl has already suffered enough and we didn't do anything to help it, but she's just a very young child. She doesn't understand what is truly going on", said Shadow.
"Eggman did a good enough job raising her, but he probably kept the truth from her so as not to make her think any less of him...", said Sonic.
Meanwhile in the forest surrounding G.U.N. HQ, Gwen was hiding behind a tree. She clutched Egglet tightly to her chest while crying, "It's not fair! Papa was taking good care of me, and he was really nice! He really loved me, and he was sorry for all the bad things he did!
"Why can't they just leave Papa alone and let him keep taking care of me and loving me? I already lost my parents and he said he would be my Papa and love me...it's not fair!", she sobbed.
As Gwen continued to sit under the tree and cry, the sun slowly went down as night time approached. At the height of her sorrow, Gwen felt a hand slowly being placed on her shoulder.
She flinched in fear and turned around to see who had approached her. She looked up to see an anthropomorphic platypus with white fur that covered most of his body. His bill was black-colored and narrow with nostrils on the front, and he possessed red eyes, black eyelids, and a thick tail.
He also had three thick hair turfs on his head that were combed over the right side of his head. His front hair turf also possessed a gray highlight.
The platypus wore a satin purple shirt with golden cufflinks, a red-violet vest, and orange pince-nez glasses. He also wore a webbed brown glove on his left hand with a gold insertion clip and golden-tipped fingertips. A darker brown ring could be seen on the palm of the glove. He also wore brown boots with golden buckles, red-violet soles, medium-high heels, the Multi-Tool Heel Spurs and upward-turned pointy toes and light red-violet socks underneath.
Gwen looked up at this mysterious individual, trembling slightly as she clutched her stuffed dog closer to her chest.
"You don't need to be afraid, my child. I know it's dark but there's nothing to be afraid of", said the platypus.
"Who...who are you?", Gwen asked shakily.
"Oh, I am...a friend of your dear Papa. I don't think it's fair that the two of you were separated over a misunderstanding. I can reunite the two of you if you wish", said the platypus.
Gwen's eyes lit up with excitement and joy, "Really? You'll bring me back to my Papa? How? When? Can we go now?", she said jovially.
The platypus smirked and chuckled slightly, "Oh you'll see him again soon enough, but for now...just sleep", he said lowly.
He then held up his left hand which wore the thick brown glove, bright yellow swirls of light began to emit from the glove. As Gwen stared at the glove, her eyes began to glow with yellow swirls; then her eyelids started drooping until she fell asleep.
She would've fallen over onto the ground if the platypus hadn't grabbed her and lifted him up into her arms, Gwen stirred in her slumber but she remained asleep.
"Shh. Don't worry, my dear. You're alright...Uncle Starline has you...", whispered the platypus as he slowly walked away into the night, taking the young hedgehog with him.
[To be continued...]