Rock-a-Bye

Chapter 3

When Sonic got up the next morning, well before his younger brother, the first thing he noticed was the conspicuous absence of running water from inside the bathroom. Sonia was routinely awake before them and her first ritual every morning was what she called her "Morning Toilette."

"Hmm, maybe she's already done and getting breakfast," Sonic went out to the kitchen. Sonia wasn't there either. "Sonia?" A thorough check of the base revealed no sign of Sonia. Sonic went back to the bedroom and shook Manic. "Manic, wake up," he called to his brother.

The green hedgehog moaned, opening his eyes. "Sonic, what is it?"

"Sonia, she's missing!"

Robotnik sent his two henchmen, Sleet and Dingo, to cash the check the next morning. Sleet was amused by the story Robotnik told him.

"That Bumblebee, I think he may be dumber than Dingo," he pointed at his partner as they waited in line at the teller.

"Why is that Sleet?" Dingo asked.

"He really thinks Robotnik is going to let that Sophia go that easily," Sleet told him.

"Um, you mean Sonia, right Sleet?"

Sleet rolled his eyes. "Of course I mean Sonia you moron. Robotnik is expecting Bartleby to send her to him, to sign a pardon. When she arrives, she'll be taken straight to the roboticizer." It was their turn next and he handed the check to the teller.

Dingo pouted. "Poor Sonia..."

"Poor Sonia my foot, Dingo. She is the enemy, remember that."

"Um sir," the teller began. "There's a problem. This check has been canceled and the account closed."

Sonic and Manic split up to search Robotropolis for any sign of their sister. They hit all of her favorite haunts and Freedom Fighter friends to see if they'd seen her. Finally they had searched everywhere and all with no luck.

"Where could she have gone Manic? We've looked everywhere." Sonic wiped his brow, worried for their sister.

Manic thought about their conversation the night before. "Um, not everywhere Sonic..."

Sonic realized Manic was right. There was still one place they hadn't tried. "Bartleby! He'll know where she is!" Sonic grabbed Manic's hand and took off at his highest speeds for the hilltop mansion. Sonic buzzed the intercom. No one answered.

"Sonic, look. Does this place seem strange to you?" Manic asked. "As in strangely quiet?"

Sonic observed the grounds and the house. "It looks dark in there. Come on bro, let's go check it out." Sonic sped onto the grounds with his brother and up to the house. Sonic banged on the door. "Yo, Bartlebutt, open up!" His banging caused the door to swing open. "It's unlocked? Does Bartleby not believe in thieves? Um, speaking of which, keep your hands off, Manic." He warned as they went in.

Manic glared at his brother. "Yeah yeah bro, I get it."

"Sonia!" Sonic called through the mansion. "Answer us!"

The house was dark inside as it looked, and very quiet. Too quiet.

"Sonic! Look here, I found somethin'," Manic called to his brother. He was standing at a small table. A letter sat beneath the keyboard medallion. "Sis was definitely here." He handed Sonic the letter.

Sonic read it aloud:

Ðear Sonic and Manic,

I'm sorry but Bartleby and I have decided to elope. We just couldn't stand this separation any longer. What's the point in fighting for freedom when we cannot be free to share our love. I tried to tell you last night that Bartleby wanted to join the Resistance, if it meant we could be together, but your attitudes and unwillingness to listen told me everything I needed to know about that. Please don't try to find us. Oh, and Bartleby says to sell everything. He doesn't want Robotnik to get his hands on anything that could go the Resistance. I'm sorry guys, but I just love Bartleby too much to do this anymore. If you find Mother, tell her I'm sorry but my heart just won't let this go.

Love,

Your Sister

"Bummer Majores!" Sonic declared. "I can't believed she did this! And if Bartleby wanted to join us, why didn't she just say so?"

Manic scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, we didn't exactly have a lot of nice things to say last night. But still, how could she do this? We need her."

Sonic shook his head. "This is weird Manic, mondo weird. Why didn't she just tell us she was having so much trouble with this?"

Manic shrugged. "I didn't know she liked him that much. No wonder she was so defensive. But it still doesn't explain why they would just run off together out of the blue."

"Something's wrong Manic," Sonic stated simply. "Something she didn't feel safe sharing with us. It's not like her to just abandon us and especially Mom. She wanted to find her as much as either of us do."

The sound of a ship landing interrupted them. "It's Sleet and Dingo, hide!"

They hid themselves just in time as Sleet and Dingo entered the dark mansion. "BURPLEBY!" Sleet shouted. "You are under arrest for treason!" He looked about. "GET OUT HERE YOU PATHETIC NOBLE!"

Sonic and Manic looked at each other. Bartleby? Under arrest? For treason? Did this have something to do with him allegedly wanting to join the Resistance?

Sleet and Dingo searched the mansion as they had. "There's no one here Sleet."

"I can see that you dipstick," Sleet bit out a curse. Robotnik would not be happy about this. "First he says she wants to leave the Resistance, pays for a pardon but then he cancels the check, withdraws his money, closes his bank account and just disappears. This makes no sense."

Sonic and Manic gaped. Bartleby had tried to buy a pardon for Sonia from Robotnik? Why? Why would she suddenly want to give in to Robotnik? There were just too many questions.

Dingo scratched his temple. "Maybe he figured out Robotnik was gonna roboticize her anyway."

"How? ESP? Well, we better go back and report. We'll get nothing done by staying here," Sleet led the way out.

"Sonic, this is...I can't even begin to understand this," Manic said in a confused tone. "The letter says Bartleby wanted to join us. But they said he went to Robotnik because she wanted to leave us."

"And then he stops the payment, I didn't even know he could do that," Sonic puzzled and puzzled til his puzzler was sore. "Whatever's going on, sounds like they're going to have Sleaze and Dingbat hunting them down. Sorry sis, but you might just need our help."

It was going on midmorning and the two lovers were still airbound. Sonia was the one flying as Bartleby didn't know where they were going.

"Ooo, Bartleby, would you be a dear and hand me one of those sandwiches," she asked.

The mink rummaged in a small cooler they had packed for the journey and pulled out a sandwich. "Are you sure about this place you were talking about?" he asked as he unwrapped it for her.

She smiled her thanks as she took the ham and cheese from him. "Yes. We'll be perfectly safe. No one will think to come looking for us there. And I'm pretty sure he'll let us stay."

Bartleby cocked his head. "He?"

"A friend, dear, he protects the island and he's helped us against Robotnik a few times," Sonia explained between bites. She looked at her watch. "Sonic and Manic will know we're gone by now."

Bartleby nodded. "Yes and Robotnik will have discovered how I respond to betrayal. They'll be looking for us soon. Are you having regrets?"

She shook her head. "Surprisingly, no. As much as I have a duty to the Underground and to Mother, I have another duty, one that is much more important. To my heart." She pointed directly ahead. "There it is, the Floating Island."

AN: Why does Sonia just tell her brothers in the note about her pregnancy? Because they don't want Robotnik to know and they had no way of knowing who would find the note first. So why didn't they just leave the note at the Rebel Base? To give them much more of a head start. Remember, they're racing the Fastest Thing Alive. Why are they going to the Floating Island? Find out next chapter.

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