Chapter Text
“You’re an astonishing little creature,” Robotnik practically purrs as he comes through the last warp ring, zeroing in on the limp hedgehog laying on the pavement. “It’ll be fun to take you back to the lab for a litany of invasive exploratory procedures.”
The people of Green Hills are crowding around as close as they dare to this terrifying spectacle of a man piloting an airship in a red onesie and the little blue thing that looks suspiciously like Crazy Carl’s Blue Devil descriptions.
“Any last words?” The scientist asks, almost mockingly.
The creature lifts his head, a last attempt at escape, but can’t do much more than blink dazedly.
“Guac…I like that word…”
And he’s out like a light again.
“I don’t have to tell you how many scientific breakthroughs have been made possible by animal testing,” Robotnik continues, either unaware or uncaring that the subject of his focus can no longer hear him.
He presses a few buttons on his control screen, locking onto the hedgehog. “You’re being very selfish.”
The laser gun on the underside of his ship splits in two, and reassembles into a sort of pincer-like appendage. The townspeople gape and point and stare, but no one makes a move to help. This goes far beyond what they’re used to dealing with.
The pincer extends outward and clamps almost gingerly around the creature’s body, lifting him and pulling him back towards the ship. Upon contact Robotnik receives immediate biological data – heartrate, blood pressure, all the fun life stuff - and flips a switch to log it for later reference. Once the hedgehog is safely tucked away in the underbelly of the aircraft, the scientist finally seems to notice all the civilians around him.
“Move along, nothing to see here! Just your everyday government protection against terrorism and other threats. Go back to your unassuming, hillbilly lives and forget this ever happened. I’ll certainly forget all of you!”
With a dramatic flair of his hand, Robotnik takes off faster than anyone can blink. As the bystanders try to process exactly what just went down, Tom and Maddie Wachowski come sprinting onto the main street. They pause only to catch their breath and take in all the destruction.
“We’re too late!” Maddie looks like she’s about to puke.
Tom gulps in air, trying to figure out what to do or say, but then his eyes land on the small, so-small bag of rings left forgotten in the carnage. He drops to his knees to pick them up, practically hearing Sonic’s voice asking if he’ll give up on him too.
“Maybe this time, but not forever. We just need to find him and get him out.” His hand clenches around the little bag. “He’s counting on us.”
It's not as reassuring as either of them had hoped.