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Things had been hectic in the Eggman base ever since it received a scheduled visit from a peculiar blue hedgehog. The master of the base had been trying to tame it, to have it succumb under his influence and possibly use its incredible speed to conquer the world. Currently, the owner of said base was chasing the little rodent around the hallways. A game of chase with the fastest thing alive, truly an unfair game. Still, he entertained. He did not want to disappoint it and chase it away, wasting the potential of what could have been.
The little hoglet he dubbed Sonic ran far off, leaving him behind meter by meter. And now, he was out of sight. This was particularly a bad sign. The base had not been installed with any surveillance yet. It would be a difficult search if the rat got lost within. There were not many badniks to help him in the search since the hedgehog destroyed most of them. He had to catch up fast. He could not waste any more precious time.
On the other hand, Sonic has slowed his pace down once the egg figure that was chasing him was long gone. He might have gone a little too fast. He should have played fair. And so he resorted to walking. He walked and walked until he saw an open door. Curious, he took a peek inside. He was not sorry at all for snooping around, because he found something exciting inside.
A mini carnival. It was vibrant with colors, red, yellow, blue, everything! There were lots of contraptions that pique his interest. The Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the scrambler, the drop towers, all seem fun to play with. He touched one of them, it could move. One could twirl, one could go up and down, and one could turn like the wheel he always ran on. But most of all, each of them lit up in colorful lights. He was amazed. This was an amazing gadget. How could Eggman leave this masterpiece hidden? The tiny hedgehog took it out of the room, wishing to take it home with him. This one was his favorite. He wanted to treasure it.
As soon as he stepped out though, Eggman caught up, He ordered the hoglet to stop, before catching his breath after the long winded run he made.
“There you are, you little rascal!” Eggman picked Sonic up, “I told you not to wander off by yourself. I still haven’t installed the cameras yet.”
“Eggman! Look!” Sonic shoved the mini carnival into Eggman’s face.
“This junk?” He pushed it aside, “To think you found this, I’m surprised. This brings back memories.”
“...Bad memories.” The human sighed heavily, “I thought coming here would make them disappear. It follows me like a ghost, still haunting me.”
He frowned, “Ugh. I hate seeing my own name sometimes. I wonder…if I ever matter.”
The little hedgehog could not understand much of it, but he could tell the other was sad. His frown was visible. He could feel the air dampen by sadness. It hurt him to see Eggman in such a state. He was talking about a name, right? The hoglet looked back at the mini carnival. There etched a name he didn’t recognize. It’s too long for him to remember anyway. ‘Eggman’ is clearly the better name. Just one word and two syllables. Just like his.
Sonic hopped off the human holding him and ran again. This time, he returned to where he had run away from. The study room. He searched for a marker quickly and crossed out that weird name. Now, how to write ‘Eggman’? He took a look at the whiteboard, which he considered a craft of revolutionary machines. Prior to this, he had been taught how to write his name and Eggman’s. He knew how his name looked so the other was how 'Eggman' was. He gripped the marker tighter, attempting to copy it and wrote it on the tiny space available on the mini carnival.
Soon after, the human comes in struggling to breathe from the excessive jog he had been doing all day. He had never run more than necessary. And today, the hoglet made him do more. He wiped the sweats falling down his face like rivers. He did not have enough power to yell out his anger, he was too tired to entertain his rage.
“You little…” He wheezed, “Do you know how fast you are? You scoundrel...”
“Eggman!” Sonic shouted.
“Huh? Yeah. What is it?”
Upon landing his eyes on the hoglet did he realize what he did. His cardboard project, the carnival land he made with passion when he was in elementary school, the one where he proudly got ‘A’ yet was brushed off by his parents, the one he hated yet loved the most, had his name scribbled out by black markers. Next to it was an almost indecipherable writing of ‘Eggman’. Then his eyes landed on the hoglet’s hand. He was holding it, a black marker. The little hedgehog proceeded to point at himself, then he pointed to the name, lastly he pointed to the man.
He smiled widely, “Eggman!”
A moment of pause passed, before Eggman erupted into a fit of his signature laughter. “That's right! I am Eggman! The greatest of them all!”
He picked Sonic up again, this time smiling. “You better remember, rodent. I wouldn't have you called me any other way!”
“Yes!” he cheerfully replied.
“Come now.” He walked out of the room, “You still have some wheels to turn, and let's do something about that terrible handwriting of yours later.”
“Yes!” Sonic cheered, “Eggman!”
The two continued on with their day, doing experiments after experiments to test Sonic’s speed. That was all in the past. It was left behind in time. The present? It’s currently Christmas, and Eggman is begrudgingly, in his own dishonest words, celebrating it with his egg family as well as Stone. He is sitting enjoying his coffee, watching over the other bots doing their job decorating while Stone setting presents and cookies down. It is surprisingly calming. He can appreciate days like this at times.
But then, he ruined everything. Sonic the Hedgehog, barging in uninvited. Just seeing the color blue bounces around made his blood boil. With Metal failing to catch him and Sage’s laser not landing a single hit, he can only hope there isn't too much damage to ruin the interior to the point it’s unsatisfactory to the eyes. Not when there is a guest presence. How embarrassing. He’s usually not this intrusive, not when it’s the holiday. What is he scheming now?
Just as he finished whatever it was he was doing, everyone was in awe of it. He was helping them finish with the decorations, even adding his own flair to the bits. Well, it’s more irritating because the decorations were his face. Sonic snowflakes, Sonic light bulbs, and even Sonic stickers. And Metal is still trying to obliterate him, circling around the room. This is it. This is the last straw. He has enough of this blue rat.
“You rotten little brat!” He jumped out of his seat, “Get out of my base now or I’ll kill you!”
“Heads up!” Sonic warned, before landing on Eggman’s head. This finally made Metal stop.
“Merry Christmas, Egghead!” He looked down to the man with a bright smile, “Hope the weather’s good down there!”
Eggman tried to grab him but of course, for someone who travels as fast as sound, he dodged it flawlessly.
Sonic gave each of them a gift of their own as he said. “Orbot. Cubot. Metal. Sage. Stone.”
“Everyone!” Now he’s at the door, gaining all their attention with a shout. Then, he bowed. “It’s been a pleasure.”
Before he took off, he glanced back with a wink. “See you next year!”
He left as swiftly as he came. Just like the wind brushes an overpass, it leaves after causing a hurricane no one asked for. It made the doctor quite exasperated by the impact he left. Not only is his decorations now full of his annoying little faces, what he did made all the others cheerier than before. It is as if to declare that he made it fun while Eggman made it boring. This was supposed to be the only time he is free of thoughts about that brat but of course, he had to make it all about him. He returned to his seat as he watched over them.
“Even I get a present? From Sonic the Hedgehog?” Cubot cheered, “Oohh! This is the best day ever!”
“Never expected that.” Orbot uttered, “But, I welcome it.”
Sage nodded, “Agree.”
“I want to destroy it.” Metal buzzed, “Can I destroy it?”
“No, brother.” Sage reprimanded, “A gift is to be appreciated. Please at least take a look at what's inside.”
“What a mischievous little fella that one.” Stone chuckled, “Must have been a headache to endure huh sir?”
Not getting a reply, Stone turned. “Sir?”
He saw Eggman looking at a small box, wrapped in a simple brown sheet, plain compared to the others which was covered in colorful designs. Stone didn’t buy that for him nor was it from any of his egg crew. He was the one setting the presents down so he would know each of them by heart. That one…was it from Sonic? He must have slipped them in when he was going super speed around them. He sighed contentedly. Their relationship sure is something.
From Eggman's perspective however, he was reading the label on the awful gift. Cheapskate. He could have at least picked a more festive color than everyday brown. Sonic’s handwriting has improved compared to the last time he remembered seeing it. It was barely readable before. Now, it’s decent. At least no one would have trouble deciphering it like some sort of ancient language left in a relic. He read what was written in, ‘ To: Lord Eggman :P Happy holiday!’ .
“...Hmph.” Eggman finally spoke, “Chicken scratch as always.”