Instincts
Ch. 24
By: Cutegirlmayra (We're actually nearing the completion of this story. :D Still have one more arc to do, and the boys have to merge with their instincts, but I'm kinda rushing it all and getting it done like I promised. Don't get me wrong, we've still got maybe 3 or so chapters left, but I'm trying to write as much as possible.)
"Go get the ball, Data! Get the ball!"
"Woah, look at him go!"
Data had grown quite a bit over night, and was now about the age of an 8 year old. He darted on all fours after the ball, and jumped back to Orbot, the throw-e, and set the ball down, wagging his tail as he loved the exercise.
"Okay, kiddo. Now, through the fun tunnel! Go, go, go!" Orbot threw the ball into the long flimsy tunnel, as Data's instincts kicked in, and he ran through the tunnel, grunting out his excitement at the narrow passage way, as it felt homey to him.
"He really loves that fun tunnel!" Cubot stated, hovering back to the end as he waited for Data, who charged him and pounced down on him, licking his square head before turning around and running back in the fun tunnel for the ball.
"Haha, he's growing big and strong. But he still hasn't said any words besides, 'love' and it worries me.." Orbot scratched his head, before folding his arms. "I can't imagine what we'll do if Eggman ever hears him say it. He'll think we've been teaching him weird things.." Orbot shook his head, as Data popped his head out of the fun tunnel, to look at Orbot with cute confusion, tilting his head.
"Love?"
"Oh dear, not again…"
"Love!"
Data stuck his head up right next to Orbot, he seemed to be wondering if he will ever see Amy again.
"How many times must I tell you…" Orbot placed a hand on his forehead, trying to gently scold Data, as he removed his hand and started waving it at him. "You can't see her again! And you mustn't say that word, either! If the Doctor finds out you've been spotted, we're done for!"
"..Whose done for?" The sliding metal door slid quickly open, as Doctor Eggman leaned slightly back, but in a straight manner, as he lifted an eyebrow up, having only heard the very last words from Orbot's spiel.
The two robots jolted in spot, and slowly turned around to Eggman. "O-oh nothing!" Orbot began, shaking his hands up, before putting them together and hovering to Eggman's side, rubbing them gently as he smiled. "Just that if he doesn't do well in training, he may be punished." Orbot lied.
"Haha, yeah! Duh… but we never told him about-EM!" Cubot hovered over to Eggman's other side, before holding a finger up in confusion and leaning over to look at Orbot in the other side, before Orbot zoomed over and clamped his speaker-mouth shut.
"Quiet, you! Or I'll give you back you're annoying cowboy chip!" he threatened.
Data felt a weird presence with Eggman, and his instincts naturally told him to fall back, to not engage as a threat, so he slowly departed back into his fun tunnel, not sure what to make of this big man…
Eggman grinned at the cautious behavior, as Orbot grew worried, and leaned down to coax him out of the tunnel. "Come on, now, Data. Dr. Eggman has the training session all in working order for you. It'd be rude not to go." But Data remained unmoving, his ears flicking around like sonar, still being cautious of Eggman… "Hmm… that's rather odd." Orbot leaned up, placing the back of his wrist on his stem's hips (if he had any.). "He's usually not this afraid…"
"He's not afraid…" Eggman corrected Orbot, and stepped up to the fun tunnel, bending down, grinning wickedly in. "He knows authority when he sees it. He's trying not to upset me… smart, for a child of ten." He reached in and pulled the kid out as he growled and tried to scratch, as Eggman looked to see him wearing the clothes he made him, and took a moment to admire his stitch work. "Hmm. I didn't do half bad on those." He lifted one of Data's legs up, still squirming and trying to bite and fight back, as Eggman nodded. "Alright, let's get you into training. A killing machine isn't just self-taught, you know." Eggman carried the struggling Data with one hand out the ceil door, as Orbot and Cubot looked to one another from behind, looking terribly worried and afraid for their little friend… as they held one hand up to their slightly quivering lip pieces.
Eggman stepped into an elevator, as the two raced to catch up to him.
"Erm… EEE… rah!" Data kept struggling, as Eggman frowned as he looked at him to the corner of his eye.
Finally, the rebellious nature subsided as Eggman moved his hand to act as though a 'mother' was carrying her young. This mimicry of his hand placement made Data relax at once, as he just hung in the air and huffed a bit, still upset with being held.
"…How did you..?" Orbot looked up, hand slightly crooked as he was about to point, before Eggman just rolled his shoulder back, trying to not look embarrassed at his moment of kindess.
"Well, uh, huh, em…" He shook his head, still a little bit shaken up. "He was getting annoying! Naturally, I used my knowledge of instincts to-"
The two robots were snickering, as Eggman's frown turned to a scowl, "What's so funny…?" he growled out.
Even Data looked over in fright for a moment, moving his arms and legs up a little in blinking surprise at Eggman's threatening tone.
"O-oh, nothing… it's just… well…" Orbot looked away, as Cubot finished his sentence for him.
"For a moment there, you kinda looked like a Father."
"Fools!" he stomped the ground, as the elevator tilted to one side slightly, before Eggman sighed and hit it again, straightening it out as it continued upward from its abrupt stop. "I'm not its father! I'm its emperor! And the sooner it learns it's duty to the Eggman Empire the better!" he declared, as the door finally opened, and he walked through it.
They went passed vaults and vaults of experiments, as Data saw through a slightly green tinted window a look-a-like of himself, and flinched in fright at the sight of it.
Orbot and Cubot shook a bit in disgust, seeing all the clones Eggman was making of Data, and felt the 'instinct army' Eggman was trying to create before wasn't all that finished with just Data being created… he had many more back up ideas…. So it seemed.
Coming up to a large room, Eggman typed in a code and the door opened, as he threw Data inside, and pushed his leg out to shove Orbot and Cubot out from entering the room. "You two stay out. I wouldn't want you're 'feelings' getting the better of you." he closed the door as Data shook his head from the impact, and sniffed around, his instincts making his spines stick up in caution.
"Hehehe…" Eggman's glasses shone as he stepped forward, looking down at Data. "Do you know why you are here..?" he asked, as Data looked up to him, and slowly, shook his head. "You are ultimate creation…" he flared his hand out before curling it back in, and began to gesture around in the air, "You are to rid this world of my enemies! Destroy all who stand in my way of making my glorious empire! And do my bidding, to summarize." He concluded, and walked toward a shadowy area. With each step, the room lit up more, showing tons of dangerous machinery and robots, all shutdown… for now…
"I'm going to teach you how to use you're abilities. By scanning that quill of yours, I learned what data had survived within you're genetic coding, however… I still haven't figured out how YOU survived while you're brothers all died…" he folded his arms, still uncertain of how that miscalculation was created… "But no bother, I've already cloned you enough successful times to have a full-fledged army. All I need now is for you to have the skills to lead them… you, are to be my general of doom!' he turned around, and as he did so, all the lights blazed on as behind him, was a doomsday looking device, that frightened Data to his core, but his nature wouldn't allow him to show such fear.
"Hmm, you show as much courage as you're rodent of a father…" Eggman hmphed, not liking that at all. "Either way, you may be courageous, but this training exercise will force you to obey me, and trust me, out of sheer survival." Eggman walked back towards him, as Data got up on two legs, and stood boldly before Eggman, letting him know he wasn't scared of him, at least, on the outside.
Eggman's lips curled down as he saw the boy's bravery almost skyrocket from a moment ago… and that worried him. "Heh, rebellious, aren't you? Don't worry. I'll knock that little unpleasing trait right out of you in no time." He stepped onto a hover device, as it moved him up and through a sliding door, backwards.
Orbot and Cubot were in the control room as Eggman stepped in, and turned a few things on.
"I have a little present for you, so here… catch." Eggman had a little robotic arm come down from the ceiling, holding a Chaos Emerald, and threw it to Data.
Data thought it like a ball and jumped up, catching it in it's mouth and then spitting it out, looking it over and sniffing it.
"If you're anything like you're fathers, then you'll find that little gem very useful in keeping you alive. Now… I would suggest you prepare yourself, but I'm sure you're instincts will tell you that." He smirked, as he turned three of the robots on, all similar to Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, as they're eye sockets glowed on, the different colors of their eyes, and the guns above Data started to rotate and move downwards, all charging and aiming at him.
"Wait! You're going to have him go to combat now!? He's just a child!" Orbot begged, seeing that Data looked just like a young Sonic, the roundness and everyting…
Cubot clung to Eggman's boots, "He doesn't even know how to control that weird blue glowy stuff on him yet!"
"Glowy stuff? That must be from Silver. Look, I realize you have grown to have some kind of 'affection' for the boy, but you must understand… he's a mutant. Created for the sole purpose of destroying those three annoying pests from this planet that I may then rule. There's no need for him to have a 'heart' just a killer instinct. Do I make myself clear?" he turned back to his robots, who cowered away from him, holding one another. "Really, I allow you two to care for the boy, not raise him." He looked back at the screened window, seeing Data below try and dodge the on-slaughter of weapons and attacks, coming at him from everywhere.
"If you want to live, you must destroy. Fight!" Eggman ordered, as Data's instincts started to activate and tell him to destroy, but Data's heart recognized the three as the men who cared for him the night before.
Data staggered back, being hit by some lasers and falling forward, his body twitched with rage, his instincts wanting to battle, and his DNA giving him advice on just how too, but his heart wanted to just see Amy again…
In desperation, he held the Chaos Emerald and felt the power soar through him, as he gritted his teeth, crying…. "L..Love…"
"How many times must I tell you…You can't see her again!"
Data's head looked up, his eyes full of fear and sorrow as the three robots stood above him, lowering their hands to attack as their beams charged.
"Love…" he whimpered out, as his diamond shaped eyes began to become even more thinner, to where you could barely see the pupil in the cat's eye like formation.
Amy's face turned in his mind's eye, smiling to him, and wiggling her nose to his.
"Fight!"
Eggman roared through the speakers, as Amy's face turned shadowy, as Data grew to be more of a 12 or 13 year olds body, and his anger at losing her vision overpowered him.
"RRRRRAAWWHHHHHHHHHHH" a piercing, blood-curdling cry was made as the camera zoomed out, and all you could see was flashes of bluish light, and robots squeaking and being ripped apart, and then…
The shallow chuckling of Eggman… before turning into a villainous laughter.
-Back with Amy~-
"Amy! Slow down!"
"What happened? You were attacked and then-?"
"Amy! Hold up! Listen to us! Hey!"
Amy was charging down the path, before taking a wrong step and staggering down, breathing hard as she tried to move up again, but the three hedgehogs all caught her, trying to help her stop for a moment and answer them.
"Amy, we'll find Data. It's going to be alright." Silver stated, as Amy shook her head, tears threatening her face as she had to get to Tails.
"Data… It's not just about Data!" she cried out, "I know he's… I who he is!" she tried to get up but fell again as the boys tried to calm her down.
"Hold on, Amy. Silver, you stay here and watch Amy. Me and Shadow will get Tails. If that's who she wants to see, then so be it." Sonic instructed, being a leader for a moment before looking to Shadow, who nodded in approval.
"Keep her down. She seems to be in a state of hysteria. We'll be back soon." Shadow adjusted his gloves and raced off with Sonic, as Silver nodded, and got down to kneel beside Amy.
She really was freaking out, her face sweating, and her breathing so heavily… her eyes shook in fright and realization at something Silver couldn't understand.
"Don't worry, Amy. We'll find Data, and we'll stop whoever took him. I promise! He won't get away with this!"
Holding her there, he thought the best way to get her mind off of the kidnapping was to talk about the past…
"Amy… do you remember? Back when you were young…" he began, looking away, before holding her hand to try and get her attention. She was looking straight down, only thinking about Data and the fact that she knew, in her heart, that he was hers, and that Eggman had lied to her about those children not making it!
"…You were looking for Sonic… and I helped you get to him? You were scared, but we hid and I kept you safe until you found him?"
"…Silver?" she snapped out of her panic and looked to him, innocently trying to put two and two together. "..But… he was just an imaginary friend. You can't possibly be-"
He smiled.
"It was a long time ago, but I'm glad to hear you still remember me. Heh, I thought for a moment,… you had forgotten when we first met."
"…You're … you're that Silver?" It had worked, he had momentarily distracted her as Sonic raced forward with Tails behind him, having dragged him along by his arm, as Shadow zoomed back.
"I've scanned the area, but no traces of a criminal." Shadow quickly walked forward, stating he couldn't find any clues to where the man might have left with Data.
"Wait, wait, wait. You didn't finish explaining!" Tails shouted out, flying down from having Sonic pull him along. "Someone electrocuted Amy..?"
"He's mine!" Amy shouted out, racing to Tails and hanging on him for a moment.
"Woah! Amy, calm down! I know you really liked that boy, b-but we'll get him back." Tails tried to comfort her, a little shaken up by how she was acting.
"Tails! Eggman lied!"
Tails's shaky smile all but disappeared as his mouth opened to gape at Amy's words.
"..What did you say?" he breathed out.
"That baby, it's mine! I have to get him back! Back before Eggman makes it a killing machine!"
Amy shook her head, not able to even bare the thought of her child being turned into a solder of war, to a man like Eggman…
"Wait, what's going on?"
Sonic shook his head and stepped forward, looking to Tails for answers.
"Something we're missing here, buddy?"
"Oh no…" Tails's eyes shook as he blinked hard, his own panic coming on as he moved his hands out and gripped his head before, shaking his head to get them off and holding them out to Amy, still crying on his chest. "Amy! Amy do you know what this means?! There could be more! He could of succeeded! Amy…Amy we have to tell them!"
"No!" Amy cried out, shaking her head and looking up to Tails, "You promised! Tails, you promised!"
"B-but…"
"Tell us what?" Shadow stepped forward, suspicion drenched in his serious tone and narrowed eyes. "What does she not want us to know?"
"Amy… you can tell us anything." Silver stated, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.
She quickly shook it off, not able to think clearly, as her instinct activated, "No, no, no!" she pushed Tails to the side and ran, heading for the only thing she knew she needed to save Data. "I have to find Eggman, I have to get my baby back!"
"What was that all about? Doesn't she want us to help her?" Silver asked, looking off to where she had ran.
"She's heading for Tails's place, but why?" Shadow questioned, as Tails was frozen, unable to process the horror of what Eggman might be doing… or has already gotten away with and done.
"Tails..? What do you need to tell us?" Sonic suddenly grew serious too, narrowing his eyes as he asked Tails to confide in him, but Tails just shook his head, and ran.
"I-I have to help Amy!"
"Not so fast." Shadow grabbed the back of Tails's neck and pulled him back.
"L-let me go! You have no IDEA what is about to transpire!"
"Then tell us, we're all ears, Tails." Sonic stepped forward as Silver joined him to his side.
"We all want to help find Data, but we can't if you won't tell us what's going on. Did Eggman steal Data..?" Silver gestured his hand out, trying to make sense of what he had heard previously.
"…While we were away… No hedgehog..?" Shadow stopped himself from asking, as Tails looked back to him in fright and disgust.
"What!? No! She was fine! T-that's not it…" he looked down, before twirling his Tails around and getting Shadow to let him go. "Look! I promised not to tell you, if you want to know what's going on, ask Amy yourselves!" he flew to his home. "Now quick! I have a feeling Amy's trying to fly my X-Tornado!"
-Tails's garage-
Amy had started the plane up, and gotten down to spin the propellers. She was using the older plane, the one she kinda knew how to fly, and was about to climb up when the boys showed up.
"Amy, wait!" Tails called, but Amy just looked back and gasped, she tried to get into the plane.
Tails flew up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her off as she struggled. "Amy, listen to me! I know you want him back, but this isn't the way! You're only going to hurt yourself!" he finally ripped her from the plane as she fought back.
"Let me go! Let me go, Tails!" she summoned her hammer and bonked him on the head, making him drop her in mid-air.
"Ow! Hey!" he gripped his head, rubbing it as the boys caught Amy from below. "I know you're instincts are you making you super protective of him, but-"
"He's mine! He's my baby! I won't let Eggman turn him into a mindless robotic destroying slave!" she stated, as the boys held her down, seeing she was losing it and tried to calm her down.
"Amy! You have to tell us!" Sonic leaned over, having helped the two pin her down as they were now all over her on the ground.
"It's not fair to us, Amy! We want to help, tell us what's really going on!" Silver chimed in, as Shadow spoke up next.
"We can't help you if you're going to be stubborn! We all care about the boy's safety! Now tell us!"
"The truth, Amy." Sonic finally spoke softer, but you could tell his eyes were still just as serious as before. "Who is Data?"
Amy stopped struggling a moment, looking frantically up to each hedgehog, before closing her eyes and giving in.
"..That night.. I was abducted… and.."
"Sonic!"
The gang turned around, seeing Knuckles rush in with 6 Chaos Emeralds in his arms.
"Eggman stole a-! Oh, hey… um…"
He saw the three on top of Amy, pinning her down as she looked up with her head to see Knuckles behind her, and grinned awkwardly.
The boys got up and let her come up with them too, as Tails flew down, and spoke with Knuckles. "Amy, you explain everything, I'll hear what Knuckles has to say."
Tails turned to Knuckles, as you could hear Amy begin to explain everything to the boys, as Sonic's fist began to shake and Shadow shouted out, 'What?!' and Silver looked down, shaken up, but terribly upset and mad at what he was hearing. "Are you okay!?" "He can't get away with this!?" "So then… whose Data?"
"Data… Data is our son." Amy stated, as the men blinked in surprised, before throwing punches at the others.
"YOU DIRTY-!" "WHY YOU-!" "HOW COULD YOU-?!"
"No! Not ONE of yours!" the boys stopped fighting, seeing Amy hold her hands out to prevent further injury. "..All.. of ours." She stated. "Eggman took DNA from each of you, and then used my egg to create Data, along with a grow serum to make him grow up quicker… I should of questioned it before, but I didn't want to believe that Eggman had actually succeeded in creating a child through… through such means…" she looked away, heartbroken by how Data entered this world, and wondering if there were more things Eggman lied about… like how many were alive…
She held her hand to her heart and looked back up to the boys. "I know we can stop him! We can save all of them if we can just get to them before Eggman turns them into something terrible! I know it's weird to think about, but he's your son! All of yours! And we have to save him!"
The boys grew silent, and looked down, as Amy's heart sank even more.
"W-…what are you thinking? You… you can't possibly be thinking he's…" she stepped back, hurt by their expressions.
"…He's an abomination… Amy." Shadow stated, being bold enough to speak first what he was feeling.
Amy's heart snapped in two.
"He goes against nature. He's not like us, he should… he shouldn't be alive."
Amy's heart was stabbed and then ripped into four.
"S..Sonic… you must… must think differently, right? You… you held him! You all held him! You saw he wasn't a monster, Sonic! Sonic, please!" now she was crying, reaching to Sonic as he couldn't look her straight in the eye. "Sonic… please… please don't-"
"…If I can save him… I will, Amy." He didn't look at her, but she knew what he was trying to say. "And if I can't… then I will hold the world above his life." He closed his eyes, as Amy's hand flinched off of him, as she moved back, shaking her head at his words.
"You… you all are thinking of killing him?" she looked to each of them, as Silver squinted his eyes shut and couldn't look at her, turning away.
"See!? This is what happens when you mess with the past! Now I've accidentally created a new future! There is no evil or good son. Now there's just a mutant! With half of MY DNA! I've created this,… this future wouldn't be possible if I had just let you get claimed like you were meant too!"
Shadow and Sonic spun around, as Amy's head jumped up to meet his eyes in surprise.
"…You knew… I was to be claimed?" she barely could speak the words out.
Silver slowly turned his head, and looked down again, unable to meet her eyes once more. "…I knew it was coming… I just couldn't let it happen." He turned away.
"So then… You wouldn't have merged." Shadow looked back to Amy.
"And one of us…" Sonic looked to Shadow, "Would of…" he looked down.
"Taken her." Shadow closed his eyes, forming fist with his hands and taking a deep breath, before opening his eyes again. "One of our sons would have been the future Silver was trying to prevent."
"But now I've created another doomsday." Silver stated, turning back to them as they looked to him. "Now, because of my selfish actions, there is a future I can't help you with. I can't time-travel again, because I'll create a paradox with my other self. This is it… this is the permanent future…"
The four all looked down, thinking…
Amy stepped up. "I won't let you hurt Data… he's just a child! He doesn't know any better! And he certainly doesn't deserve to be hated or rejected by his fathers!"
"Don't call us that." Shadow glared to her, as her ears bent back as she stepped away. "We are not that thing's parents… and for the most part, neither are you."
Amy's heart was finally destroyed, as she glared to Shadow and stepped up to him. "I AM HIS MOTHER. AND I WILL PROTECT MY SON!"
"…Whose son?"
The four turned to look at Knuckles, who blinked in confusion. "Wait… Amy had a baby!?" Knuckles shouted out as Tails rolled his eyes.
"No! And get out of here! Thanks for telling me, by the way." Tails pushed Knuckles out the door and shut it, turning to the gang as he threw them each two Chaos Emeralds. "Sonic, Shadow, Silver… Amy is right. This child holds some of your DNA, which can make him extremely powerful… I noticed the kid had instinct eyes, I wonder… if Eggman is using Instincts as a weapon, we could all be in trouble. Instincts powers up everything from strength to mental processing… everything! We have to be careful and cautious. Amy… no one wants to hurt the kid, even they don't want too." Tails gestured to the three boys. "We just want to make sure the world is safe. We'll do everything to save him, I promise you that, I won't fail another time." Tails said that with so much conviction that Amy raised her head and nodded to him, trusting his words…
"What did Knuckles say?" Sonic asked, placing a hand to his hip, trying to just move on and figure out the hard stuff later.
"Right." Tails nodded, and gestured to the Chaos Emeralds in their hands. "Eggman stole a Chaos Emerald. No doubt to help his growing experiment use Chaos Control."
"He'll be more powerful than ever…" Shadow concluded, looking down at the Chaos Emerald before turning to Amy, and who looked away from him. Shadow looked forward with a 'hmm'd sigh. He didn't want to disappoint her, but if he had to destroy the kid to protect the world, he would.
If Amy couldn't forgive him…
Then that's a price he was willing to pay.
"I have to rewrite my wrong. The past is made now, but I can still affect the future!" Silver gripped the Chaos Emerald in his hand and held it forward, determined not to fail the future again.
Tails nodded to the two, and turned to Sonic.
"…This all started with Instincts…" Sonic stated, "A power we couldn't control… but was apart of us from birth." He glanced back over his shoulder at Amy, who turned away, not wanting to look at him anymore, not with what he had said to her. "We've had a lot hard times because of it… misunderstandings, betrayals, even…" he sighed, "Even unwanted feelings."
Amy blinked a moment and turned back to glance at him from the corner of her eye.
"We have to end this. We have to somehow get a grip of what we can't control and learn to deal with it. We need to stop Eggman, just like always, and get some revenge for those who can't get it for themselves."
Amy turned away again, closing her eyes.
"Justice." Shadow stated, and looked to Sonic.
"…For morality." Silver stated, stepping forward into the small circle they had made.
Sonic nodded, and looked down at his own Chaos Emerald, having one in each hand like the others, but only holding one up. "For life." He held his Chaos Emerald in the center, as the other two held theirs up with him.
"For motherhood!" Amy jumped in, placing her hand up as the boys looked to her in surprise, and then smiled lightly.
Tails scratched his head and rolled his eyes, before smiling and jumping up, having to fly a little due to his height not being very high enough to reach everyone else's hands, as he stated, "and for the right to live! Let's save the boy, and let him decide his own fate!"
Amy smiled to Tails, glad to see someone was still on her side.
The other three didn't respond, but just seemed to have their own resolves and thinking on the boy's fate.
Amy jumped in the X-Tornado as the boy's used Chaos Control to teleport to Eggman's Airship, the one Amy had told them about before.
Tails jumped in and the garage door opened along with a plane's runway. "Ready?" he asked, turning around to her.
"Let's go save-"
"The world!"
"…My son." Amy pouted, as Tails awkwardly chuckled.
"Y-yeah, that too." He wasn't used to that being an option to shout out after that line…
The two blasted off as the future seemed to be riddled with puzzles…
Sonic, Shadow, and Silver still hadn't merged with their instincts, and with Data now being trained and violently drilled into being a warrior of the Eggman Empire, will the boys have enough control of their instincts to stop him..? Or will Eggman's vile scheme actually pay off for once?
Find out, next time on, Instincts!