“What took you guys so long?” chuckled Sonic as the Doctor and William finally arrived, panting at running for so long.
“We’re not…designed…to run…at sonic…speeds!” panted William.
“I think…my hearts…are gonna burst!” wheezed the Doctor. Somehow, she preferred running when there was something chasing her with the intent to kill her. At that moment, Tails left the workshop the Time Lord and human were collapsing in front of.
“…Sonic, really?” asked Tails in a deadpan voice.
“Come on! It was fun!” argued Sonic.
“Who are they?” quizzed Tails.
“Oh, they’re both doctors,” replied Sonic. “I ran into their time ship and they fixed me up. The lady’s just called the Doctor and the man’s Dr. William Davies.”
“…Time ship?” repeated Tails. “You know what, I’ll ask them later. Help me get their breath back.”
The Doctor and Willam were so grateful for resting their tired feet and having tall glasses of water on standby. “Oof! My dogs are killing me!” said William as he dipped his feet in a tray of water. The Doctor had taken her shoes off and felt her feet.
“Ouch!” she said as she pulled her hand back from how hot her feet were. “Oh, be quiet, Fido!” She then dipped her feet into a water tray and sighed. “Aaaaahhhhh…much better.”
“Doing all right?” Tails asked his guests.
“Much better now,” replied William. “Thank you so much.”
“So, Sonic said you both fly through time and space in a dimensionally transcendental box?” quizzed Tails.
“…I doubt he used those words, but yes, we do,” replied the Doctor.
“…Wow!” Tails had a look of wonder in his eyes.
“Erm, Tails,” said Sonic, “you wanted me here earlier. Why?”
“Oh, yeah! Eggman’s on the move again!” Tails flicked a switch and darkened the room. A projector then displayed the data he gathered. “My drones spotted Eggman’s robots chasing down two people. One is Amy, don’t know why he’s giving himself that kind of headache, the other is a Miss Tarae, a human woman.”
“A human?” asked the Doctor. “I read somewhere that Eggman only turns animals or Mobians into robots. What’s his angle in kidnapping a human?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s nothing good,” replied Tails.
“Then I say we kick his fat butt again!” declared Sonic.
“You’re not gonna make me and the Doctor run there, are you?” asked William.
“No one’s running to Eggman,” replied Tails. “We’re taking my plane.”
“…Aren’t you a bit young to fly a plane?”
“Trust me,” said Sonic, “my little bro here is a genius at mechanics AND flying!”
The Doctor and William were in Tails’ plane in the seats behind him while Sonic stayed on the wing. “Isn’t that dangerous?!” the Doctor called to Sonic.
“Trust me, I’ve done this before!” replied Sonic.
“It’s getting him to NOT do it that’s the issue,” remarked Tails.
“Where are we even going?” asked William.
“To Robotropolis,” replied Tails. “That’s where Eggman’s got his prisoners.”
“How are we gonna get there without being shot at?”
“…We’re gonna be shot at, sorry to say,” muttered Tails.
In the control room, Eggman and his robots were pouring over the surveillance cameras. “What is taking that blue pest so long?!” complained Eggman. “You’d think he’d get here earlier, given his powers!”
“Father,” came a voice. A hologram of a little girl with white hair, a black dress, and red eyes and spots that looked like red data lines on her body appeared.
“Yes, Sage?” asked Eggman.
“Tails’ biplane has been spotted in our northern skies,” reported the girl, Sage the AI. “Reports indicate that Sonic is onboard that plane with two humans.”
“Let’s see them!” Sage obeyed Eggman and put up an image of the plane with Tails and his passengers. “Excellent! Bring them down!”
“Yes, Father,” replied Sage.
Flying robots were deployed and flew towards the plane. “Hoo boy! Here they come!” warned Tails. He pulled off some fancy flying maneuvers as he got closer. “Hang on, everyone!” he warned. “This is gonna be bumpy!” The plane managed to avoid the weapons fire of the flying robots and Robotropolis’ anti-aircraft weapons as it touched down on a landing strip. More robots arrived. Sonic leapt off the plane, curled into a ball, and dashed into the robots, turning them into scrap. Once a path was cleared, Tails and the Doctor made their way to the main door. Tails attached a device to the lock, then the device smoked and sparked. “Oh, come on!” complained Tails. “Stupid Sage, upgrading everything faster!”
“Allow me,” replied the Doctor. She pulled the lock’s panel off and began rewiring.
“Stop,” ordered Sage’s voice. Her hologram appeared. “You are intruding on Dr. Eggman’s territory.”
“A real artificial intelligence!” said the Doctor. “How do you do? I’m the Doctor.”
“You must leave,” directed Sage.
“Your creator kidnapped Tails’ friend and a random woman,” retorted the Doctor as she continued her work. “We won’t leave without them.”
“If you will not leave willingly,” warned Sage, “then you will be prisoners.” By then, the Doctor had rewired the door control, and the door opened.
“Voila!” she cheered. She then saw the robot horde. “…Oops.”
“OUT OF THE WAY!” called Sonic. He dashed into the robots at supersonic speeds, creating a sonic boom! The Doctor and her friends held their ears up until…robots grabbed them!
“Halt, Hedgehog!” called a robot.
“Yeah, right! That ain’t my-!” Sonic stopped when he saw the Doctor, William, and Tails. “Hey! You let them go right now!”
“Surrender and your friends will be spared,” said Sage as she appeared.
“Sonic, I rather think you should surrender,” remarked the Doctor.
“WHAT?!” protested Sonic.
“It’s the most expedient way to get to Eggman right now,” explained the Doctor. “You know the routine.” Sonic blinked, then his face lit up as he realized the Doctor’s plan.
“All right then, Sage, I surrender,” he said.
“Very wise, Sonic,” replied Sage. Robots then grabbed him.
“Hey! Watch the quills!”
“You want answers, don’t you, Doctor?” guessed William.
“Yes, I do!” confirmed the Doctor.
The group was brought to the main control center. Eggman was in his chair as usual, overseeing operations. “Don’t you get tired of that view, Eggbreath?” asked Sonic.
“Not in a million years, old friend!” cackled Eggman. “But, believe it or not, it’s not you I’m after.”
“Yes, I heard about Ms. Rose and Miss Tarae being taken,” remarked the Doctor. “But it was to lure Sonic here, yes?”
“Not just Sonic, my dear Doctor,” replied Eggman. Everyone goggled at that.
“…I…can’t say I’ve had the ‘pleasure’,” said the Doctor.
“Oh, this IS our first meeting,” answered Eggman, “but I stumbled upon one of your people before and they were rather…reluctant to give me the secrets of time and space. They told me you would use your brain to get out of a fight and that your time ship looks like a blue box.”
“Doctor, I’m not sure I like how accurate Eggman’s associate is,” muttered William.
“Neither do I,” replied the Doctor.
“Take them to the cells!” Eggman ordered his robots. “Perhaps the Doctor will get answers there!”
Everyone was put into a cell with the Doctor next to Miss Tarae. “…Why would he go after you, Madam?” the Doctor pondered to herself aloud.
“Which one?” asked Amy.
“The human one,” replied the Doctor.
“I don’t know!” replied Miss Tarae. “He’s never given me a straight answer, only talking about how time and space is his! It’s just…ooooooohhhh!” The poor girl started tapping on the wall. William heard it.
“…Can’t say as I’m familiar with morse code,” he remarked. “You ever heard that before, Doctor? …Doctor.”
“…It can’t be!” whispered the Doctor. She listened intently to the tapping. It was a specific series of four short taps…like a Time Lord’s Hearts-beat! She quickly turned to the robot guarding the cell. “Pen and paper!”
“Repeat,” droned the robot.
“I need pen and paper!” The robot sent the request along the semi-hive mind Eggman had programmed, then it printed out paper and gave the Doctor a pen. “All right, how do you spell Miss Tarae?!”
“M-I-S-S-T-A-R-A-E,” droned the robot. The Doctor wrote out the letters then rearranged six. M stayed where it was, then one of the A’s got moved, then an S, then T, then E, and finally R!
“…Master!” breathed the Doctor in fear. Miss Tarae then chuckled.
“Guard, she’s figured me out!” she said. The Doctor’s blood froze. That confirmation was all she needed!
“Doctor, you’ve got the serious voice,” said William. “You were only like that with the Krynoid and Gurast. Do you know Miss Tarae here?”
“Oh, she does,” chuckled Miss Tarae as the robot let her out of her cell!
“So that’s why Eggman knows about the TARDIS!” hissed the Doctor. “YOU told him about it!”
“Doctor, who is she?!” called William.
“Would someone tell me what’s going on here?!” called Amy. The Doctor hesitated to answer.
“Well, Doctor?” asked Miss Tarae. “Aren’t you going to answer your friends’ questions?” The Doctor sighed, hating that she’s indulging in the woman’s game.
“…She’s a Time Lord,” explained the Doctor. “One of my greatest enemies. …When she adopted a male body, she was always known as the Master.”