The next day, Sonic was racing towards Station Square Park. He had gotten wind that Eggman was planning something there and was determined to stop him. As he tore through the streets, Shadow appeared from a turn he had made. “Hey, Shadow!” called Sonic. “Long time no see!”
“Move it or lose it, Faker!” snapped Shadow. “I’m after Eggman!”
“Hey, what a coincidence, so am I!” chuckled Sonic.
“Oh no, you don’t!” snarled Shadow. “He’s mine!” The two then raced each other towards the park. They then went through the park entrance and raced halfway through the park until they found Eggman having a solo picnic. “All right,” whispered Shadow, “we need to approach him with caution. Sonic, you circle around to that bush over there and…and…and you’re just RUNNING RIGHT AT HIM! GET BACK HERE, YOU BLUE IDIOT!” Shadow dashed after Sonic and both Hedgehogs ended up dangling by their feet from a noose in a tree.
“Ah, Sonic,” greeted Eggman. “So kind of you to join me. And I see you’ve brought a friend.”
“I’m not his friend!” denied Shadow.
“What are you up to, Eggman?!” demanded Sonic.
“Well, I don’t want to spoil any surprises,” replied Eggman, “but, since you’re here, I might as well tell you my most impressive and evil scheme to date! You see those non-Mobian pigeons over there?” He pointed to a flock of the birds just doing their thing by a path. “Well, observe that sign as well!” continued Eggman. It was a standard “Don’t feed the pigeons” sign. “When that cop over there comes here,” Eggman went on as he pointed out the cop, “I’m going to feed the pigeons!” He cackled in his usual manner while Sonic and Shadow raised an eye-ridge and looked at each other. Eggman then noticed the expressions on his enemies’ faces and his cackle died off.
“…That’s your ‘most impressive and evil scheme to date’?” asked Sonic.
“Seems a little tame, compared to breaking the planet open,” muttered Shadow.
“…Okay, all cards on the table,” sighed Eggman as he started untying the noose, “I’m going through a mental block on my evil plans.” Sonic and Shadow then fell to the ground, giving Eggman a slight sense of amusement. “Seriously, I’ve got nothing. I feel like all the stupendously EVIL plans are being gobbled up by the Decepticons. I try to come up with a plan for world domination, but Megatron would have already thought of it and organized teams to enact it. I mean, yeah, the only upside to this is that they’re the ones being stopped by you heroes instead of me…”
“Actually, it’s more the Autobots that are stopping the Decepticons,” replied Sonic.
“Oh, so you’re feeling sidelined by your Transformer friends too, huh?” muttered Eggman.
“Yep,” sighed Sonic. “All I’ve been doing lately is doing the tamer hero stuff. You know, helping an old lady cross the street, rescuing a cat from a tree, getting a lost child back to his parents, that kind of stuff.”
“At least you’re DOING something,” grunted Shadow. “This is my first proper deployment in months. Lately, I’ve been cleaning my motorcycle and training with Omega. Sometimes Rouge ropes me into being her pack mule whenever she goes shopping.”
“Looks like this slump is affecting us all,” sympathized Eggman. “Sonic, my friend/nemesis, I’m dry! Seriously, I’ve lost my mojo! Can you offer any advice?”
“I’m not an evil scientist, Eggman,” answered Sonic. “And you’re not exactly a hero, so I think it would be counterproductive for us to ask each other for advice.”
“I know, I’m just grasping at straws right now,” mumbled Eggman. “Well, I needed to get away from the Decepticons for a while. I guess I’ll see you around, Sonic.” Eggman packed up his picnic and left the park in his egg-mobile, abandoning his latest scheme.
“…You know, I can’t help but pity him,” sighed Sonic.
“I don’t pity him,” rumbled Shadow. “I’m going back to G.U.N.” He pulled out a communicator and connected to G.U.N. “Command, this is Shadow. False alarm. Eggman’s scheme was feeding the pigeons in the park near a sign saying not to do so. …Yes, I’m aware at how sad that is. He didn’t even fight me and Sonic. He just gave up when he announced his plan and didn’t get the reaction he wanted. …Yeah, he’s in a slump like the rest of us. Unfortunately, his slump’s Transformer-related too. …Yeah. …Yes, Ma’am. …Understood, on my way back now.” He ended the call and sped back to G.U.N.
Sonic sighed when he was left alone in the park. He sat under a tree, just staring off into space, thinking about the Autobots. He considered visiting Amy, something he hadn’t done in a while. He wanted advice and Amy, while lovesick for Sonic, DID give good advice and told her friends what they needed to hear. “SONIC!” came a voice Sonic knew. Amy was running up the hill in her Scarlet Specter outfit, forgoing the wig, mask, and hat.
“Hey, Amy,” greeted Sonic, “I was just thinking about you.” Amy gasped.
“You were thinking…about ME?!” she squealed happily. She then spun around, gushing about how Sonic was thinking about her.
“Yeah, I need your advice,” explained Sonic.
“My darling Sonic needs my help!” gushed Amy. “What can I do for you, my precious Blue Blur?!”
“I’ve been feeling sidelined lately,” answered Sonic.
“Sidelined?” asked Amy.
“Yeah,” confirmed Sonic. He then explained what he, Shadow, and Eggman were talking about. Amy sat near him and just let him talk for a while. “I don’t know,” he finally sighed, “maybe I’m getting jealous of the Autobots.”
“I don’t think it’s that,” replied Amy as she sat next to him.
“What makes you say that?” asked Sonic.
“I think it’s the fact that the Autobots and Decepticons are at war,” explained Amy. “When they first landed here, we all believed we’d have a few good adventures with Optimus and his friends. But, thanks to Megatron, the Autobots are more concerned with survival. Not just their own, but ours as well.”
“So, what, isolating themselves from us will protect us?” quizzed Sonic.
“I don’t know what their thinking is,” replied Amy. “Right now, I think we should try and understand them a little better, give them help when they ask for it.”
“If they ask for it,” muttered Sonic.
“WHEN,” insisted Amy. “They’re still our friends.” Sonic didn’t say anything. He just sat there, letting Amy rest her head on his shoulders.
Eggman returned to Robotropolis and made his way to his lab. He just sat down in a chair, staring at his equipment. He tried coming up with ideas, but everything went up in smoke before he could even move himself to use his tools. Eventually, he just shouted and flailed his limbs angrily with no direction and no purpose, scattering tools and papers everywhere. After that fit, he just flopped into his chair again. “What’s going on?!” he demanded to himself. “I was a threat to the world! THE biggest threat! …Why would the Decepticons just let me rot? I gave them a base of operations! …Now they barely give me the time of day.” He just sighed again, sitting alone for a while…until Megatron entered.
“Doctor, I need you for guard duty,” boomed Megatron.
“What is it?” sighed Eggman.
“I need a guard detail around the Allspark,” explained Megatron. “Give it top priority. The cube can, quite literally, change the world as we know it. We must NOT let Optimus get his hands on it.”
“I’ll see to it,” grunted Eggman.
“Excellent,” praised Megatron. “You’re giving us the tools we need to win this war.” Megatron then left the lab. Eggman grumbled as he prepared to detail a guard unit, then he recalled something.
“…Computer, remind me of the Allspark’s significance to the Transformers,” he ordered.
“The Allspark,” replied the computer, “was the primary means of Transformer reproduction before the female gender was included in the species. The Quintessons attempted to weaponize it when they had controlled Cybertron, making all sorts of vehicles into living weapons. To do that, the Quintessons forced the Prime of the time to use the Allspark to their whims. During the war that led to the Transformers’ freedom, they had to launch the Allspark into space, resulting in Transformer victory in the long run.”
“…Make machines come to life, you say?” mused Eggman. “Only a Prime could activate it?” Eggman pondered his next moves…then his wicked grin came out. “Computer, detail a guard and make sure they’ve got the Decepticon symbol on them. After that, get me a secure channel with Sonic and Optimus, out of Soundwave’s reach.”
“At once,” confirmed the computer. Once the computer switched itself off, Dr. Eggman began chuckling, then giggling, then launched into a full-blown evil laugh!
“Look out, Mobius!” he cackled. “Dr. Eggman’s got his mojo back!” He then made his way to a drawing board and started creating new vehicles for his plans.