Chapter 26 Sly Fox
*These following chapters were inspired by thekyuubivixen's "Premonition" it's an incredible story and one of my favorites! The jokes are hilarious, and I love the relationship Sonic has with his friends. Also, migraines and sleep loss are no joke in that story. That's all I'm gonna say about it; you'll just have to read it for yourself! 😉 *

Everything was going great! Spring was in full swing; interviews with G.U.N. had gone smoothly as usual. Eggman had convinced Shadow and Rouge to speak with Tails about his issues about the contract and the doctor.
The duo had surprisingly happily agreed to do so, and once they were finished, Tails seemed relatively calm about it all. Sonic revealed the future adoption shortly after and assured the small fox that it was all of his own decision, with no one else's influence. To which Tails reluctantly accepted.
Finally, everything is coming together! Sonic thanked Chaos that things were turning out so well. Eggman's suggestion for the punk-emo hog and risque bat to act as a mediator had been a smart move, and that had really helped pave the way for the blue blur and fox to make amends.
Granted, despite his best attempts to convince Tails that they would still be brothers after his adoption and spend lots of time together. The small fox was still not thrilled about the news of Eggman becoming Sonic's permanent guardian, but he didn't fight the issue anymore, and right now, that's all that the blue blur could ask for. He was sure that Tails would come to trust Eggman as he did in time after they got settled, and the doctor started the process to adopt the fox as well.
Besides, Tails and Eggman were both science and engineering geeks. Once the fox saw and got his hands on all of the doctor's lab equipment, Tails would bond with the human quicker than Sonic did.
His estimation is a week at most.
But Tails' current insecurities were not going to dampen this hedgehog's enthusiasm. Now, in over a week, Eggman would officially be his guardian! Sonic was filled with nervous excitement, terrified of the thought yet enthralled by it at the same time. And then there was the party afterward to think about!
The blue blur sucked hard on his paci as he tried his best to calm down while watching the children's movie he had picked out. Eggman would put Sonic straight to bed soon no matter how much energy he had, so he knew he needed to wind down, but his nerves just wouldn't settle. His leg bounced on the cushion, and his ears twitched every few minutes as he kept his eyes on the screen.
The doctor looks out of the corner of his eyes, seeing the blue devil practically bouncing like a Mexican jumping bean on the couch. Knowing it wasn't from an excess of sugary treats as the hedgehog didn't have any at dinner, but the energy was coming from anxiety (the good kind). He raises a hand and gently starts to scratch Sonic's head smirking as he watches the hedgehog still for a second before melting and purring like a kitten under his fingers.
Warmth blossoming in his chest, Eggman pulls the blue devil closer to his side, extending his scratches from Sonic's head to his abdomen. The blue blur stretches out onto his lap and moans with pleasure, eyes dropping as the calming stokes relax him further.
Eggman felt his heart flutter; just when it seemed the hedgie couldn't get any cutter, Sonic would do something like this, and it made the doctor's heart melt into mush and draw out a strong desire to protect his charge from all harm.
While Eggman was dealing with his paternal feelings, Sonic concluded that Eggy's fingers were full of magic cause whenever he had too much energy, all it took was a scratch or pet on his head for the energy to die, and he would calm down.
His ears lazily twitch to the sweet nothings Eggman whispers to him, "Such a sweet baby. So precious. My Cuddle bug—my prickle baby. Look at all that soft fur and that cute little nose~." Sonic smiles and blushes behind his pacifier, embarrassed and loving the attention that made his stomach all fuzzy and warm from being cooed and babied.
Several minutes later, he lets out a big yawn, rubs his eyes, and snuggles closer to Eggman. The doctor lovingly pats the hedgehog's diaper and scoops him into his arms, "Bedtime, little one." Sonic doesn't argue; instead, he nuzzles Eggman's chest and grabs hold of his caregiver like a baby koala. The doctor checks Sonic's diaper while he walks and notes that the blue devil needs a change.
Stepping into the nursery, Eggman gently pries Sonic off of him, who whines at the loss of contact, placing him on the changing table, "Shh shhh, it's ok sweetheart Eggy's going to change your diaper real quick, and then you can go to sleep." the hedgie grunts but allows Eggman to work. The doctor gets the supplies and untaped the dirty diaper; grabbing a wipe, he cleans Sonic's lower regions, then rolls up and tosses the diaper into a pail. Sanitizing his hands quickly, he grabs a new diaper and raises Sonic's legs, placing him in it, then takes the baby powder covering the hedgehog thoroughly, letting the sweet baby smell fill the air before taping the diaper closed.
Picking the hedgie back up, Eggman rubs his back and pats his bottom a few times, kissing his temple and turns on the mobile. Sweetly he says, "Goodnight, my little one. Sweet dreams, I'll see you in the morning~." Sonic squeaks a yawn as he's tucked in, "Night night Eggy. I woves you."
"I love you too, baby." Eggman kisses his cheek one more time before turning off the lights and leaving. Sonic sucks on his pacifier and turns to his side, grabbing Ivo and cuddling the plushy as he falls asleep with a smile, not knowing that his sleep will be interrupted in the next few hours.

Meanwhile, at Tails' workshop said fox, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Rouge were finalizing their plan for tonight.
Unknowingly to Sonic, Tails had lied to him. Despite Shadow and Rouge's best efforts, the fox was adamant that Eggman had somehow brainwashed his brother and planned on using him as a tool for world domination as he knew. If the blue blur was on the doctor's side, they wouldn't have much chance of defeating him from taking over the world.
So Tails has spent the last few months carefully crafting a way to rescue his brother and getting proof that Eggman was still a dangerous villain. All of his hard work would culminate tonight.
The others weren't so sure whether Tail's wild accusations were true or not, but it didn't take much convincing for them to get involved. They didn't want to risk Sonic being in the hands of someone who was still potentially their enemy. If there was any doubt that Sonic's safety was at risk, there was no question that they had to do this for the greater good.
The only groups not involved were Team Chaotix, Blaze, and Silver, as they had other things to attend to, and Cream as she was the youngest. There was no need to get her involved in this mission.
Though the two G.U.N. spies had failed to persuade Tails not to go through with his plan, Shadow and Rouge did reluctantly decide to join in to help out in the rescue op. Acting as double agents and eyewitnesses for what they were sure they would have to report on in the future legal case. Making sure the least amount of damage was caused as necessary in the "rescue" mission.
"Ok, guys, let's go over the plan one more time to make sure we're all clear before we go." Tails says, laying out a floor and blueprint plan of Eggman's base that Shadow had provided. "Knuckles, Amy, and I will be stationed the entry points here, here, and here, creating a distraction." the fox points to three areas on the map then looks up at the pink hedgehog and echidna. "Guys do whatever you need to do to get their attention; treat this mission like the ones we've done before in infiltrating Eggman's bases. Get loud and break as many badnicks as you can; the longer we can keep their attention to us, the better."
Knuckles grunts with a nod, and Amy does the same, the two accepting their roles; the small fox then turns his attention to another part of the map. "While we're doing that. Rouge, since you and Shadow know the layout. You guys will sneak in and find Sonic. He maybe a bit uncooperative and aggressive, so you have my full approval to knock him out if he doesn't come willingly...just don't hurt him too much, please?" Tails asks, sadness evident in his tone in the last sentence.
He hated that it had come to this point, and he had to use force on his brother as the fox had tried to avoid it at all costs, but his efforts in warning and talking with the blue blur had gone ignored. If they don't do this now, they will lose this chance, and there will be no turning back. If his theory of Eggman brainwashing Sonic were correct (and Tails knew he was right), then it would be impossible to help the blue hedgehog once the 6-month limit had passed. He needed to get his brother out of the doctor's slimy hands before the brainwashing took full effect.
"Don't worry, fox boy; Blue will be safe with us," Rouge assures with a soft voice; Shadow nods firmly with her. The fox sighs gathering his composure again before returning to his commanding voice, "Thanks...Don't forget to grab anything that could be used as evidence. Once you have Sonic meet us back here and keep him restrained so I can do some tests when we return. I estimate we have about 10 minutes after the first alarms go off before the base goes on lockdown, or Eggman realizes what's going on and puts Sonic somewhere where we can't reach him. That's not a lot of time, people, so do your jobs quickly. Now any questions?"
All shake their heads, Tails roles up the plans and stands straight looking over his friends, having the authority of a general 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. Tails sat in the pilot's seat, flying the plane with a determined frown on his face keeping his eyes on the sky.
Amy sat behind him, hoping her crush wouldn't be too angry at her for helping in this plan to essentially kidnap him, even if it was for Sonic's safety. 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 some badnicks like old times.
Rouge flew next to the wing of the plane where Shadow stood straight with his arms crossed and his signature glare pushing down his feelings of guilt so he could focus on what was about to happen.
He and Rouge had been spying on Eggman and Sonic since, after the first interview via orders from G.U.N as both agents served as the perfect candidates to keep an eye on the human and hedgehog.
Though Sonic and the military organization didn't have the best of relations, they did share a common goal of wanting the world to be safe and have peace and freedom. Thus they tolerated each other. The blue blur had saved the world countless times where they could not and had helped pitch in a helping hand when G.U.N. needed a little more firepower or someone with his unique skills.
The situation with Eggman's contract gave G.U.N. the perfect opportunity. They owed the blue hedgehog an enormous debt of gratitude and wanted to ensure that Mobius' protector would not be harmed by the doctor's hand with this sketchy treaty. So they had enlisted Shadow and Rouge, both having previous experience with the doctor and having excellent spy skills as Sonic's secret bodyguards.
They were to keep a record of all that happened in the base and were authorized to intervene if at any point the blue devil's life or safety was threatened. Yet, they had to do so without compromising their end of the contract and without suspicion.
Shadow and Rouge were very aware of ALL that had been going on at Eggman's base.
EVERYTHING
(Don't worry; it's all confidential.)
Shadow and Rouge had held a meeting with their superiors before joining the rescue op, updating them about the situation and explained their plan on how to handle it. This was a delicate situation, and they had agreed to explain to the blue blur what was happening and how they would proceed in such a way that everyone's best interests were upheld. The bat and hedgehog had no doubts that a court battle would commence, and they had already everything prepared for both sides to defend themselves in what was sure to be an ugly fight.
Rouge and Shadow were to stay strategically as neutral as possible, and if asked who they thought was guilty, both would deny any opinion out loud. "No comment."
However, to each other, they had confidently admitted that after secretly watching Eggman and Sonic's interactions over the last few months, they knew that both were no longer in a hero vs. enemy relationship. They had grown to be family to each other and didn't want to see them split up.
The hedgehog and bat felt painfully guilty for having to separate the two and wished they could stop Tails' "rescue mission." But, there had been no other viable solution. All they could do to help was reduce the amount of damage as much as possible and hope that the blue devil would cooperate.
Shadow's eyes sharpened in attention as he saw the base in the distance and prayed to his precious Maria 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.
Her 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; Rouge looked up to see Tails give a hand signal when they were within viewing distance.
She nods 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 badnicks that may be out on patrol beyond the perimeter fence. Such a thing was unlikely, 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 tablet and showing a map of the compound, the fox whispers, "Ok, this is where we split up. Shadow, where are we?" he asks. The black hog points to an area on the edges of the map, his shadow dampening the soft glow of the tablet, "Here." he then lifts the pointed finger out, "You need to go to that way for the North West entrances."
"Excellent. We'll take it from here." Tails nods, putting the tablet away, and waves for Knuckles and Amy to follow him. The pink hedgehog lags for a moment and begs in a whisper to the two spies, "Please be careful!" hoping they understand who she was directing her concerns to before she goes to follow her group.
Shadow and Rouge stand watching the trio head for their positions, listening to the soft chirps of crickets waiting for a few minutes. When the other part of their group finally disappears around the corner of the base, the ebony hog takes Rouge's hand and softly commands, "Chaos Control!"
With a flash of green light, the two reappeared in their usual hiding place in the base's ventilation system they had set up as a mini surveillance office. The spacious box-like area was perfect; they had enough room for two sets of desks and chairs that held their laptops that were connected to Eggman's security cameras as well as those they had strategically installed to all of the blind spots. It was also perfect because the location split into many pathways that lead throughout the base, so they had instant access to even restricted areas.
Shadow bends down to crawl, entering one of the vent tunnels, and takes the lead, scuttling through the maze without hesitation as to what direction they are going.
A minute later, he stops before a vent cover and peers down into Sonic's nursery. Gently he takes off the cover, sets it aside, and then drops silently into the room; Rouge lands next to him, her wings flutter slightly from the draft of air from the fall. "Get his stuff together. I'll wake the baby." Shadow whispers to her and walks to the crib; he reaches between the bars to shake the blue blur awake but pulls back and hesitates, looking at the lump with a regretful expression.
This is Shadow's first time seeing the blue hero in close proximity while in his Little space. He's taken aback by how relaxed, infantile, and peaceful Sonic looks, pacifier in his mouth cuddling his stuffed Ivo and wrapped in a red blanket. Pure and true, the mask of a cool, indifferent teen Shadow was used to seeing was completely off, revealing a little boy who wanted love and attention.
Shadow had always been rubbed the wrong way regarding the blue blur and his perceived attitude. For year's the dark hog ignored Sonic's repeated attempts to be friends. How could Shadow associate himself so closely with someone who easily hid themselves? The Ultimate Lifeform had had enough of liars in his life and wanted to have no involvement with them anymore.
Some would think that having a world-renowned thief and spy for a friend was hypocritical on his part, but they didn't know the bat as he did. The lengths she went through to gain his trust, to stand by his side, all the layers of herself that she had revealed to him with complete confidence. These were some of the many reasons why she was his best friend.
Now having spied on Sonic and Eggman over the last few months. Shadow had gained a better understanding of why Sonic had a mask, to begin with, and how easily it had become a habit to keep it on. He now understood why the blue blur had hidden himself; it surprised Shadow how similar their backgrounds were.
We both have no known biological family, a connection to the chaos emeralds, almost identical powers, and a love-hate relationship with the Robotnick family line. Is it really any wonder then that people always confuse us for each other? Yes! We have completely different color schemes and quill styles!
Shadow shook his head to get back to the matter at hand. This was no time to contemplate theories as to why they were so alike, he needed to get his counterpart out of here, and they were running out of time! The blue hero had done so much for Shadow; now it is his turn to lend a hand.