-Chapter 146-

Here Comes the Sun


Angel Island

At the Azure Lake garden, as the Chao frolicked happily beneath the Sunshine Ball. Team Chaotix sat around their makeshift office near the lake when they heard the telltale noise of a Warp Ring opening up. Espio opened the door to find Sally there.

"Oh, Princess," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Just call me Sally. No need for formalities," Sally turned to Vector. "I have a job for you."

"I hope you don't mind us asking for pay up front," Vector replied. "Bills and all."

Sally dropped a stack of Mobiums on the desk. "Will this be enough?"

Vector thumbed through them, nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"There's something about the Egg Moon that's been bothering me," Sally began. "Especially Eggman's Sunshine Ball business."

"But didn't you buy one of them?" Charmy asked.

"Only out of necessity," Sally replied. "I want you guys to sneak into Eggman's base and investigate. Try to find anything that could connect him with the Egg Moon's malfunction."

"Consider it done," Mighty assured. "Though I'm surprised you're not asking his niece."

"She's working on fixing the issue," Sally explained. "And frankly, trying to pry her from her laptop is pretty hard. The only one who can get her to take a break is Metal."

"You sure this is really a trick?" Charmy questioned. "I mean, maybe Eggman really has reformed and is trying to do a good thing."

"He's pulled stunts like this before, Charmy," Ray pointed out. "Like when Sonic first met Knuckles."

"Oh yeah," Mighty agreed. "Man, he really should have asked more questions back then. Would have saved a lot of trouble."

"Well, Kat not bothering to speak up and clarify Eggman was the one who enslaved her until after the Death Egg had already relaunched certainly didn't help," Julie-Su added. "I know she'd been through a lot, but was it really that hard to just come right out and say, 'Don't believe Eggman. He's a liar and monster'?"

"Exactly," Sally confirmed. "Lack of information was a severe detriment. Thus, we're not making the same mistake here. Sonic's all for smashing up the Mirror Towers and being done with it, but we need actual proof Eggman's done something wrong. Right now, it's all I can do to keep him from running off half-cocked like he always does. So it's up to you."

"You can count on us!" Vector assured.


Central City

In the White House in Central City, Robotnik strolled in, the 6-S behind him. The President and his assistant, Jerome Wise, were immediately on their feet.

"How did you get past security?!" Wise demanded.

"I pretended I was a bar of soap and gave them all the slip," Robotnik quipped.

Jerome was about to hit a button when Robotnik held up a hand.

"Now hold on. I came here peacefully," he insisted. "I'm here to discuss my niece's Egg Moon, as well as the current situation with my Sunshine Balls."

Jerome looked at the President for a response. After a moment, he nodded.

"You have five minutes to explain." The President said.

"I'm afraid the issue doesn't seem to be resolving itself anytime soon, and demands for my Sunshine Balls have gone through the roof," Robotnik began. "Unfortunately, I need more space to set up Mirror Towers to provide the necessary solar rays. As well as funding for parts and labor."

"Why should we believe anything you say?" Wise demanded. "All you've ever done is cause pain, suffering, and chaos to Mobius at large."

"You don't have to believe me," Robotnik pointed out. "But helping me out is a better alternative than never seeing the sun again and freezing. I may be a villain, but even I need my vitamin C."

"Alright, fine," Wise conceded. "You make a good point."

"Do what you must," the President decided. "But know that we're keeping an eye on you."

"I'm the man to deliver your sun solution, Mr. President," Robotnik swore. "And if I don't, lock me away."

"Believe me, we will," the President assured.

Robotnik held out a hand, which the president shook after a slight hesitation.


Station Square

At the Thorndyke Mansion, the Brain Trust was hard at work taking apart the Sunshine Ball. Nicole appeared behind them.

"Sally just hired the Chaotix to look into the Sunshine Ball production," she reported.

"Can they really find anything?" Tekno asked.

"Vector may be a money-obsessed kook, but he has a private investigator license for a reason," Hope assured.

"Yeah, they're actually really good detectives," Chris agreed. "Vector's just really loud and kinda clumsy."

"Still a good guy," Kat remarked from off to the side, where she was playing with Chuckles and a cat toy.

"They're imbeciles," Metal sneered.

"Said the bot who ended up cuffed to a 12 year old because of said 'imbeciles'," Kat quipped.

Metal gave her a dirty look as Porker and Keith opened up the base of the tower.

"Hello," said the pig. "What do we have here?"

"What is it?" Eggatha asked. "What'd you find?"

"Not sure," Keith replied. "I need a phillips head, and some wire cutters."

Eggatha quickly supplied them. With a little elbow grease, Keith loosened whatever was inside before pulling out a bizarre red cone-shaped device marked with the Robotnik Empire insignia.

"Well, that's interesting," Rotor mused.

"What do you make of this thing, Aggie?" Hope questioned.

"I'm not sure…" Eggatha confessed. "But it doesn't look like it's solar related. Let me get it working and we'll see what it is."


Robotropolis

In Citadel Robotnik, an unseen force opened a hatch before sneaking inside. This force moved carefully through the halls, slipping past several patrols of Swatbots. It soon came across a production facility, showing the Sunshine Balls and Mirror Towers being built on an assembly line, complete with the same bizarre red cones installed within. The figure let out a small, confused noise, then moved deeper into the facility. Once it was safely in a small office, it shut the door, then shimmered into the visual spectrum, revealing themselves to be Espio.

"I'm in," he reported into the com.

"What's the sitch?" Julie-Su asked.

"I'm not seeing much, aside from assembly plants."

"Check the mainframe," Vector ordered. "See if anything's out of place."

"I'm on it."

Espio headed for the mainframe. He searched a few files, but found nothing. Then, something caught his eye.

"Hello…" he remarked.

"What is it?" Vector asked.

"I'm sending you some coordinates. We need to get there ASAP."

He quickly typed them in.

"What's there, Espio?" Vector questioned.

"The answer to our little moon mystery."


Station Square

Back at the Thorndyke Mansion, Eggatha examined the red cone, hooking it up to her laptop.

"Okay, I think I got it hooked up properly. Everyone stand back. No idea what this thing will do."

She pressed a button on it. The red lights lit up as her laptop powered on, revealing Robotnik's face on a swirling red-and-black background as a droning sound reached their ears and his voice echoed.

"Obey me, Dr. Robotnik. I am your master. Sonic is your enemy. Accept me as your leader. Give in to the Robotnik Empire. Obey Robotnik! Destroy Sonic!"

His shades lifted up, his eyes swirling with the same red-and-black color as he laughed. Sadly, Kat didn't look away in time. She stood up straight, her pupils dilating until they practically eclipsed her irises.

"Obey Robotnik…" she droned. "Destroy Sonic…"

She was just advancing on the others with a zombie-like gait when the door was thrown open. Sticks came running in, flinging a bucket of ice water right into Kat's face. Kat sputtered, spitting and wiping her face.

"It's always the meatheads who get hypnotized," Sticks declared. "Good thing I was prepared!"

Everyone turned to Sticks.

"Uh… were you just sitting outside the living room with a bucket of water this entire time?" Tekno asked.

"It was meant for either the robot, or a brainwashing victim," Sticks explained. "I had spares in the event more than one of you got hit."

She opened the door, revealing an entire wagon full of buckets.

"Why do you even have her on your team?" Metal deadpanned.

"For moments like this," Rotor answered as he handed Kat a towel.

"So that's it!" Tails realized. "Subliminal messaging! The Sunshine Balls double as mind-control devices. Anyone who has one will be compelled to worship Eggman and follow him."

Sticks immediately glared at Eggatha, who shook her head and waved her hands frantically.

"No!" she exclaimed. "I didn't have anything to do with this!"

Metal's eyes flashed as he quickly moved to defend her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Agatha has been here with you all this whole time, since before the doctor began producing the Mirror Towers," he pointed out. "How could she possibly be involved in this little mass hypnosis scheme?"

"Because it's an Eggbot made to look like her!" Sticks exclaimed. "I'll prove it!"

She ran forward, grabbing Eggatha's face and tugging at her ears in an attempt to rip off what she thought was a mask.

"Ow! HEY!" Eggatha cried. "Stop it!"

"Damn, it's stuck on tight!"

Kat quickly grabbed Sticks, pulling her off as Metal pulled Eggatha back.

"The bucket didn't work!" Sticks cried. "Kat's one of them! She's ONE OF THEM!"

Chris, Keith, and Hope all grabbed a bucket from the wagon, throwing the water at Sticks.

"Kat-" Tails began.

"Take her outside and keep her from starting another Westside Incident. Got it."

Holding Sticks by the scruff of her neck, she carried the drenched badger outside.

"I reiterate my earlier question," Metal said. "Why is she on her team?"

"She needs social interaction," Hope explained. "It helps keep her at least a little stable."

Eggatha rubbed her face and ears, wincing. "What is wrong with that girl?"

"Everyone has a different theory," Keith deadpanned.

Eggatha sighed, addressing the elephant in the room. "Hope, you've gotta believe me. I had no idea Uncle Ivo was doing this."

"I do believe you," Hope assured. "Hell, the fact that Metal is just throwing jabs instead of punches is proof enough."

"Yeah," Rotor agreed. "If you really were part of this, he'd have immediately acted."

"Sure, just talk about me like I'm not here," Metal said flatly, only to be ignored.

"But that still doesn't solve the mystery of the Egg Moon's malfunction," Chris pointed out. "Did Eggman just take advantage of it... or is he the reason for it?"


Robotropolis

On the outskirts of Robotropolis, the Chaotix made their way to the coordinates Espio had found. Upon arriving, they found themselves standing in front of a large dome with Robotnik's insignia on it.

"What is this thing?" Charmy asked.

"Well, it's definitely not a Mirror Tower," Ray remarked.

"I'm on it." Julie-Su said.

Her cybernetic dreadlock extended, plugging into the dome.

"Oof, this thing has some serious security on it. This'll take a moment."

She closed her eyes, focusing as she hacked away. Everyone else just stood around, just waiting.

"The movies made this look so much cooler," Charmy remarked.

"That's a little thing called 'artistic license'." Vector said matter-of-factly.

"Done!" Julie-Su declared. "And boy do I have news for you guys."

"What's the word?" Espio questioned.

"This building here is what hijacked the engine systems on the Egg Moon, forcing it into the permanent eclipse," Julie informed them. "And I don't think I need to tell you who programmed it."

"Eggman." they all declared.


Station Square

At the Thorndyke Mansion, Vector informed the group of the situation through Omochao's video link. Sonic scowled.

"So that's it," he spat. "Eggman hijacked the Egg Moon and controlled it so he could con everybody into buying those silly Sunshine Balls he invented. It's just a cheap get-rich-quick scheme!"

Eggatha removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes in annoyance and anger.

"Betrayed by my own uncle…" she sighed, getting up. "I'm going to join the Chaotix and get the moon back into its proper orbit. You guys go on and…" She just sighed. "Just go on and kick his butt. C'mon, Metal."

Metal nodded, standing up. Hope reached out for her cousin.

"Aggie, I-"

"Not now, Hope," Eggatha cut her off. "Just... not now. I need some time alone."

Hand in hand, Eggatha and Metal walked out. Johnny whistled.

"Now that is the face of a girl rethinking her life choices," he mused.

"Okay, so we know this is just another evil plan," said Bunnie. "So what do we do now?"

"I believe our first step is to inform the President and GUN of the con," Antoine said.

"Then can we finally get to knocking down the towers?" Sonic asked.

Sally sighed. "Yes Sonic. Then we can finally get to knocking down the towers."

Sonic grinned. "Finally."

"I think you enjoy smashing Eggman's toys a little too much," Shorty remarked.

"Hey, he deserves it." Sonic gave a two fingered salute and zoomed off to begin smashing.

"Do not shatter the Sunshine Ball on Azure Lake!" Sally called after him. "We will be dismantling that one carefully!" She turned to Shard.

"I'm on it." Shard's eyes unfocused as he got in contact with GUN HQ. "Dr. Bennett? It's me. Eggman screwed us over again. Brainwashing and a secret base that hijacked the Egg Moon. This whole Sunshine Ball thing was a combination get-rich-quick/take-over-the-world scheme."

"Damn it…" Sarah cursed. "Madonna made a bet and I said it was spy cameras. That's twenty Mobiums down the drain."

"Score!" Madonna exclaimed. "I'll mobilize the troops!"

"I'll alert the President immediately," Sarah assured. "Robotnik won't get away with this."

"We'll handle the Mirror Towers and his control station," Sally told them. "Trust me, Sonic's been itching to smash something since this whole mess started."

"Why am I not surprised?"


Central City

At the White House, Robotnik was standing with the 6-S outside, waving at a crowd cheering his name as the President spoke with Sarah.

"...I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." he said finally before hanging up.

"Sir?" Jerome asked.

"We were right," the President stalked toward Robotnik. "It's over! The Freedom Fighters found your control tower, and your mind control device. Your little Sunshine Ball scam is finished."

The 6-S stood before him, scowling.

"How dare you spread such slander?" Orbot demanded. "Dr. Robotnik bent over backwards to help you, and this is the thanks you give him?"

"Yeah, but that's just like a politician," Coconuts scoffed.

They were cut off when Robotnik began laughing.

"You've found me out, eh, Prez?" he asked.

"Wait," Cubot let out. "You mean-"

"Did you metallic meatheads actually think this whole hero act was for real?" Robotnik questioned. "Why, I planned this crafty little coup right from the beginning!"

"You did?" Grounder asked.

"We thought you were trying to make it up to Agatha after-" Decoe managed before Bocoe covered his mouth.

"After everything that happened," he finished.

"That's what I wanted you to think. I know you seven dumbbots can't keep a secret to save your skid plates."

"Well, that just makes us wonder what else you lied about!" Cubot declared. "Like when you forgot the Wi-Fi password, or claimed Santa Claus doesn't deliver to robots, or that cartoons would rot our... head... think... boxes!"

Orbot sighed. "I knew this was too good to be true…"

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Scratch said in resignation.

"We're so gonna get pounded, aren't we?" Coconuts asked. "And I bet… she will be there."

The 6-S all shuddered.

"I'll teach you to make a jackass out of me, Robotnik!" the President swore. "I'll ruin you for this!"

Robotnik just chuckled. "Oh, will you now?"

"Yes, I will. Security!"

All the President heard in response was the sound of crickets.

"Here, allow me," Robotnik offered. "Security!"

Immediately, the President's security guards entered, pinning both the President and Jerome to the ground.

"Damn it…" the President let out. "The Sunshine Balls!"

"Precisely," Robotnik boasted. "There are so many around Central City that it was easy to ensnare them under my thrall. And hear that crowd?" He opened the doors, allowing the President to hear the crowd cheering his name. "It won't be long before I'm elected the new President, and the United Federation will be replaced with the Robotnik Empire."

"Yeah? And what about me?"

Robotnik turned back to the President, grinning.

"Simple. You're my hostage."


Station Square

Sonic stood before a group of Mirror Towers in Station Square, smirking.

"You may have fooled everyone else with this little scheme, Eggman, but you'll have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on me. Now, it's time to do what I do best."

He ran at one of the towers full force before rolling into a Spin Dash and plowing through it. "Man, that felt good!"


Across the city, the Sunshine Balls flickered and faded out, the group watching from the Thorndyke Mansion.

"Wow, Sonic works fast," said Cream.

"Not surprising," Amy mused.

"That'll slow Eggman down, but we still need to move the Egg-Moon away from the sun." Tails pointed out.

"Eggatha and the Chaotix have that covered," Sally said. "For now, we should focus on taking care of the towers."

At that moment, Omochao began buzzing. "Incoming message from the Chaotix."

"Put it through,"

"This is Eggatha," came Eggatha's voice. "Vector and the others have tried everything, but the signal jammer is solid. Uncle must've made it out of Megatal."

"Shoot…" Tekno cursed. "Without a Chaos Emerald, there's no cracking it."

"What now?" Tails asked.

"We may need to go to the source." Knuckles theorized.

"Exactly what I was thinking," said Hope. "If we can't destroy the Egg Moon controller down here…" She pointed up. "We'll have to do it up there.

"I'll go." Knuckles decided.

"Getting a little ahead of yourself, Knuckles," said Sally. "We have a lot of planes, but none of them have the power we need to get us into space."

Rotor grinned. "Well then, I'd say it's time to break out our latest mode of transport."


Some time later, after Sonic had been called back, Chuck Thorndyke stood before the group. He pressed a button on a remote, which opened up a large section of the backyard to reveal a hangar for something that had the group's jaws dropping. It was a massive dome-like structure with massive wings spanning outward, a yellow star marking within a red circle and white background painted on top. Twin jet engines came out the back, humming with power. The entire thing was almost the size of the mansion.

"Whoa…" everyone let out.

The Brain Trust members stood proudly before it.

"We give you the Sky Patrol!" Rotor declared. "Battleship, home-away-from-home, mobile headquarters-she does everything."

"How long have you guys been working on this thing?" Sonic asked.

"Since about a week or so after you busted us out of the Death Egg Mark II," Hope replied. "We figured it'd be a good idea to have something handy to put us on even footing with the Death Egg and any other flying superweapon Eggman whips up."

They headed into the hangar.

"So Chris, how many places did your dad bankrupt to get the materials we needed for this?" Amy asked.

"One or two at least," Chris admitted.

"All that's left to get the Patrol up and running is a steady supply of energy," Chuck said. "Laura had that covered."

On cue, Keith went over to the corner, revealing several capsules of Power Rings.

"The Sky Patrol runs on Power Ring energy," Hope told them. "Between the Lakes of Rings and Keith's garage-full, we'll never have to worry about it running out of gas."

"And just wait till you see the weapons systems!" Porker exclaimed.

"Especially with the Moon Rings and Red Star Rings that Gazebo and my mom have provided," Keith added.

"Sweet!" Sonic declared. "Let's do it to it."

"Random question, but... who's gonna pilot this thing?" Amy asked.

"Perhaps I can lend my services,"

Everyone turned to see Mr. Tanaka standing there, giving a bow.

"Mr. Tanaka? You?" Keith asked.

"Indeed. You may not know this, but before I served the Thorndykes, I served as a member of the Yurasian GUN branch. I was special forces, trained in all manner of military armaments and combat."

"You're a Tuìyì zhàndòujī (1)?" Kat asked.

"Shì (2)," Tanaka confirmed. "I was known as Dōngfāng lóng, the Dragon of the East."

"Chris… your butler is awesome," Hope remarked.

"Did you... know about all that?" Keith asked his cousin.

Chris shrugged. "Bits and pieces. Generally, when I asked him what exactly he was before he became a butler, his response amounted to 'Let's just say I've had a lot of tattoos removed.'"

"As long as he can get us into space, he's okay by me," Knuckles decided.

"Alright, let's do this!" Rotor declared. "We're ending this eclipse once and for all!"

They boarded the ship, Tanaka at the wheel as they took off. Shard was in contact with GUN HQ again, and snapped out of it.

"Bad news, you guys," he informed them. "Eggman's taken the President hostage. Mr. Stewart's working to save him as we speak, but he could use a little backup."

"Then he'll get it," Sonic decided. "Once we get to the White House, drop me off and I'll handle it."

"Well, we have the perfect way to drop you off," Tails declared.


Central City

Tails led Sonic to the side of the ship, where a sizable blue and yellow cannon rested.

"Here's just one of the Sky Patrol's weapon systems," Tails boasted. "The Sonic Power Cannon."

"Let me guess. Judging by the name, it uses me as the bullet?"

"Or anyone who uses a Spin Attack."

"Sounds like fun," Sonic grinned. "Just aim me at Eggman."

Tails popped open a hatch in the barrel, Sonic hopping in and landing on a platform within. As it raised up, the cannon powered on, drawing energy from the Power Ring capsules as Sonic curled up and began spinning in place. They took careful aim at the White House, seeing Robotnik parading around the Oval Office with the President tied to a chair.

"Readying Sonic Power Cannon…" Tails declared. "Aim… FIRE!"

A thunderous explosion sounded, and Sonic was shot out of the cannon as a high-speed bullet


Meanwhile, in the White House, a tile on the floor shifted and was pushed aside, Mr. Stewart climbing out.

"Chalkboard Charlie to Homeroom. I'm in. Commencing search."

In the President's office, the President looked on with a deadpan expression as Robotnik and the 6-S doodled on small scraps of paper.

"And... done." Robotnik let out as he held up his scrap of paper, revealing it to be in the shape of a Mobium bill with his insignia drawn on it. "Behold the new currency of Mobius. The Robotnibuck."

"Eh, I think 'Egg Bill' has a better ring to it," Cubot remarked. "And look what I got!" He held his up. "The Cubot 10-dollar bill!"

"Keep your ugly mug off of my money!" Robotnik howled in anger before calming himself and thinking. "But yes, Egg Bill does have a nice ring to it."

"That keeps confusing me," Orbot admitted. "You constantly insert the word 'Egg' into your gadgets and weapons, and yet, you hate it when the Freedom Fighters call you Eggman."

"Believe me, I utterly despise that nickname," Robotnik confirmed. "But Sonic and his cohorts will never stop calling me it. So what they gave me in mockery, I will take and turn it into something of fear and power."

"Well, perhaps you can tell Sonic that," Orbot admitted, pointing at the window. "He's on his way here."

Robotnik turned, just in time for Sonic to completely obliterate the window. He stood, smirking at the furious doctor.

"Sorry to crash your little political party, Eggman," he said. "But your term is up!"

Robotnik scowled, grabbing the president and readying his finger laser.

"You think I care about that sack of hot air?"

"That's an awfully harsh way to speak of the President, don't you think?"

Sonic smirked, pointing at the President. Robotnik looked, his jaw dropping to see what he was holding was nothing more than an inflatable dummy wearing a wig.

"What the hell is this?!" he demanded.

"A bag of hot air, like I said," Sonic replied. "Now…" he popped his neck, "where were we?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yes! This, Robuttnik, is the part where you start running."

Sonic then charged right at him, causing Robotnik to panic.

"Stay away from me! Stay away!" he demanded. "Orbot! Cubot!"

The two were hiding behind the couch in their shells.

"Decoe and Bocoe! Scratch, Grounder, Coconuts! DO SOMETHING!"

Sonic scoffed. "You really think your little goldfish poop gang has a chance against me?"

"Fine!" Robotnik tossed the dummy aside. "I'll deal with you myself!"

"Now we're talking!" Sonic declared.


Meanwhile, the Sky Patrol had breached the atmosphere, heading straight for the moon.

"Alright, according to Aggie's schematics, we should be closing in on the signal tower soon," Hope told them. "A direct hit from the Sonic Power Cannon should be enough to smash it and restore the Egg Moon's natural orbit."

"I'll do it!" Kat piped up. "I can smash that thing easy!"

"Are you crazy?" Tails demanded.

"Absolutely not!" Knuckles insisted.

"Oh come on!" Kat whined.

"You'll die in the vacuum of space in seconds," Tails pointed out.

"And that's if the cannon doesn't tear you apart first!" Knuckles chimed in.

"The Power Cannon is specifically designed to work with those who can Spin Dash and Spin Attack like Sonic," Rotor told her. "Last I checked, Kat, you can do neither."

Kat grumbled, flopping onto her seat.

"I'll handle it," Knuckles rose to his feet. "Get the cannon ready."

"Oh, so the vacuum of space doesn't affect you?" Kat questioned. "How does that even work?"

"We have special rebreathers for space walks," Rotor explained. "They generate a specialized shield that provides oxygen and heat."

He pulled out a hi-tech looking collar, handing it to Knuckles, who took it and snapped it on. It shimmered and a field surrounded him.

"Time to bring back the dawn," he declared.

He entered the cannon, which powered on as Tails took aim at the signal tower.

"Get ready, Knuckles!" he shouted. "Aim! FIRE!"

Knuckles was shot out at a red streak, pounding into the signal tower. He plowed through the tower, destroying it. There was a small pop, a minor explosion, and the moon began to move back into its original orbit. The Sky Patrol scooped Knuckles up and headed back to Mobius as the sun began to shine on the planet once again.


Central City

Back in the White House, Sonic and Robotnik came crashing out the doors, wrestling.

"Nobody clears a room like you, Doc!" Sonic quipped.

"You conniving little hedgehog! I'll-! I'll…" Robotnik trailed off as he realized the sun was out again. "No, no, NO!"

"Yes, yes, YES!" Sonic taunted. "My pals took out your signal jammer. Your eclipse scheme is toast, Egghead. And so are you."

Guns cocked, and Robotnik looked around to find they were completely surrounded by GUN operatives. Topaz stepped forward.

"Dr. Robotnik!" Topaz declared. "For your crimes against humanity, we arrest you in the name of the law!"

"What?!" Robotnik shrieked. "You can't arrest me!"

He saw that the 6-S were all rounded up, some in chains while Orbot and Cubot were just being carried like packages, duct tape keeping them shut.

"This is so humiliating…" Orbot lamented. "To think this morning we were flying high..."

"Now look at us," Cubot tacked on. "Jailbirds!"

"We can and we will, Robotnik," Topaz shot back. "Between the mass kidnappings, the Breeze Media hijacking, the Shēngcún massacre, your involvement in Chaos' destruction of Station Square, that little missile attempt, and the ARK incident, you've built up a big enough rap-sheet to pile drive yourself into prison until you're a very old man."

"Just you wait!" Robotnik swore as he was handcuffed. "I'll be back!"

He was thrown into the back of a transport van, which began driving away. "I'll be back!"

As he was driven off, he caught a glimpse of Sonic, who had the smuggest grin on his face as he waved mockingly at the doctor.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"


Knothole

Sometime later, everyone met up at Knothole to enjoy the new day.

"Aggie and her robo-pal gave us the slip after the sun came out," Vector remarked. "Those two are surprisingly quiet."

"They'll turn up," Hope said. "Besides, I doubt they're gonna do much. Aggie was pretty angry with Eggman, and Metal basically follows her now."

"We can't dismiss the possibility she'll break him out sooner or later," Sally insisted.

"If it happens, it happens. We'll be ready," Sonic put an arm around Sally. "Now, I think it's time I get a reward for saving the day."

He dipped her before giving her a kiss, which she returned. The others cheered like a studio audience... except for Amy, who barely managed to hide her expression of heartbreak at the sight.


GUN HQ

That night, Robotnik sat in a high security holding cell at GUN, waiting to be transferred to whatever hole they decided to send him to. As he sat there, he saw the cameras flicker off. He looked at them curiously, then a vent opened and both Eggatha and Metal came dropping in.

"Agatha!" he exclaimed. "I knew I could rely on you."

"Actually, I'm only here to save the 6-S," Eggatha clarified, her tone emotionless and cold. "They're fun to play with and I don't want them dismantled."

She turned to Metal, who nodded and rushed off to collect the bots.

"You're just going to let me rot in prison?!" Robotnik demanded. "Why?!"

"I created the Egg Moon to do some good for once," Eggatha replied icily. "To fix the damage that you caused, Uncle Ivo. But you snooped around on my laptop, then hijacked my project to use for one of your schemes. You used me, Uncle. Betrayed me. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

"You yourself are a turncoat!" Robotnik pointed out.

"And yet, I don't actively sabotage your inventions or machines," Eggatha retorted. "I'm an information smuggler at worst. Did I ever once tinker with one of your machines so that it'd be under my control and not yours?"

"Well… no-"

"And did I ever completely hijack one of your projects for my own selfish and potentially world-ending scheme?"

"The Egg Moon eclipse was only temporary!" Robotnik defended. "Once the Sunshine Balls had completely brainwashed the populace, I would've ended it and restored the natural orbit!"

"Uncle…" Eggatha began, "Nik and Pitch got sick because of you."

That ended any possible rebuttal or argument on Robotnik's end in an instant.

"...What?" he managed.

"You never installed a Sunshine Ball in Robotropolis," Eggatha told him. "It remained dark the entire time. The Chao Berry tree wilted, and they were both sick when I returned home."

"No…" Robotnik managed, genuinely horrified. "I-I didn't mean…"

"This is what I was talking about with restraint," Eggatha said simply. "And actually thinking things through. And that's why I think spending some time in a government blacksite without any sunlight is just what you need."

Metal came in, a large burlap sack in hand. "I've got the scrap heaps."

"We can hear you!" Scratch's muffled voice came from within.

Metal just shook the bag.

"Good," Eggatha nodded. "We'll be going now. See you later, Uncle."

She was about to go when Robotnik grabbed her shoulder, gently yet firmly.

"Wait," he said. "Please."

Eggatha looked at him from over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Much to her surprise, Robotnik got down on his hands and knees, bowing his head.

"You're right," he admitted. "I made a huge mistake. I never wanted to hurt you, let alone Nik and Pitch. It's just... all these losses and thwarted plans... I was so desperate to finally beat Sonic and establish the empire that I got carried away." He sighed. "I'm sorry for hijacking your project, and for what happened to the Chao. I was a complete bastard to you, Agatha. I didn't mean it, but it doesn't change the fact that I was."

Eggatha fully turned to face him. "No more schemes that threaten the sanctity of the planet, and no more threatening to eradicate entire towns. We talked about that. Control, don't destroy."

Robotnik nodded. "It's a deal."

They hugged before pulling away.

"Now... I don't suppose you have a plan for getting me out of here?" he asked. "Preferably one that won't alert Sonic or GUN. I'd say we should keep a low profile for the time being."

Eggatha smiled, then tossed a small box into the cell. The box opened and expanded, becoming an Eggbot. Eggatha then went to the door, pulling out a hairpin and unlocking the cell door.

"Should buy us some time," she said. "When Hope asks, I'll tell her I was mad and left you and only went to collect the 6-S."

"That's my girl."

He ruffled her hair, and with that, they made their escape.

"I've already got my next plan keyed away," Robotnik remarked as they slipped away on the Eggmobile. "One that will take full advantage of the fact that Sonic thinks I'm in jail." He looked at Metal Sonic, smirking. "And it'll involve you, my dear Metal."

"Me?" Metal questioned.

"Yes. We're going to make you better. Faster. Stronger. So we can finally be rid of Sonic once and for all."


Author's NoteL

(1): Chinese for "retired warrior."

(2): Chinese for "Yes."

And that's that! The Egg Moon situation is fixed, but now that Robotnik has some free time to play with, there could be some serious trouble.

The Sky Patrol is from Archie, just FYI.